Abstract
Contemporary matcha is ground to produce a fine and a smooth taste in a sensory evaluation. Fine matcha was not produced until after the early modern period, because the tea cultivation technique and device to grind the tea had not progressed before the middle ages. We divided Chanoyu into four periods based on the method used to grind matcha. We then reproduced all matcha that would have been produced before the middle ages, measured their particle sizes and evaluated the taste. The two matcha ground in a druggist's mortar were coarse and rough, resulting in a bitter and astringent taste. Other matcha ground in two types of a tea-grinding mortar were fine in texture and gave a smooth and rich taste.
