While your customers won’t be coming to your spa primarily to consume food and drinks, there’s no denying that having a good selection of healthy and health-boosting snacks and beverages on offer can take your customers’ wellness experience to the next level and, therefore, keep them coming back. If your spa is not yet offering matcha for customers to drink before, after or in-between treatment sessions, you should really consider making this addition to your menu. Here’s why.
It will feel special
Matcha is a type of green tea which is made by grinding young tea leaves, which have to be shaded from direct sunlight for the last 20 days before harvesting, into a powder. The powder is then whisked into hot, but not boiling, water (around 175 degrees Fahrenheit, or 80 degrees Celsius) using a special whisk made of bamboo. The resulting tea is thick and dense, and has a distinctive smooth taste which is very different from that of ‘regular’, brewed green tea.
It has a very calming ritual aspect to it
Of course, people don’t just go to the spa for health reasons—they also want a calming, relaxing experience away from the stress and bustle of their everyday lives. When prepared according to tradition, matcha is not just like any other hot drink; it forms the basis of a traditional Japanese tea ceremony which is predicated around the concept of ichi-go ichi-e, meaning that every moment spent in a particular encounter should be treasured, because it will never happen again. No wonder tea ceremonies have been a central part of Japanese Buddhist monks’ practice for centuries!
To remind your customers to slow down and treasure each moment, buy some ceremonial-grade matcha and a whisk set from a green matcha tea store, hang up posters in your waiting room explaining the concept of ichi go ichi-e and let your customers make the drink for themselves and enjoy it together, in silence.
As with all the practices and treatments you use in your spa, it is important that your staff and customers are reminded to practice cultural appreciation rather than appropriation. Don’t use sacred practices and symbols as fashion accessories, show them the respect they deserve and refrain from taking part in them altogether if they are ‘closed practices’.
It has lots of health benefits
Like brewed green tea, but even more so, matcha has lots of health benefits, which is the reason behind its huge rise in popularity in recent years outside of Japan and China, the places where matcha has been grown and drunk for centuries.
Firstly, the fact that matcha is made using the whole tea leaf means that, compared to brewed green tea, it contains a greater amount of antioxidants, which help prevent chronic disease by stabilizing harmful free radicals.
Secondly, at least one study has found that these antioxidants help reduce blood levels of ‘bad’ cholesterol.
Thirdly, another study found that drinking matcha regularly might help regulate blood sugar levels and improve insulin sensitivity, thereby reducing the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
As you can see, there are plenty of health-related reasons why your spa’s customers will want to consume matcha!
