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Time of India
6 hours ago
- Time of India
Matcha in Demand: How South India is Embracing the Trend
Strawberry Matcha at Dou, Nungambakkam Nirmal Raj, founder of Buddies Café and Dandjo Teas in Ooty, has been selling matcha since 2015. But of late, says the tea merchant, the quantities he has had to procure have more than quadrupled. 'Till a couple of years ago, I used to buy only 500g a month. It's now 8kg a month and rising,' says Nirmal. He's not sure what's driving the surge, but he's planning to ride the wave with a matcha dessert menu soon. It's game, set, matcha everywhere. Namratha Marlecha, founder of Sante Spa Cuisine in Chennai, is also seeing an increase in demand for their matcha dishes. 'We've been around for more than seven years now, and hardly a handful of people used to try our smoothie matcha bowl or matcha pina colada, for the health benefits. Today, almost every table has someone ordering matcha dishes. The demand has pushed us to rework our menu and add more matcha drinks,' says Namratha. A finely ground powder made from specially grown and processed green tea leaves, matcha involves consuming the entire powdered young leaf, offering a more concentrated dose of nutrients and antioxidants, unlike regular green tea, where you steep the leaves. Once a niche Japanese import, matcha is now riding the social media wave into cafés, kitchens, and even personal tea collections across Chennai. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like American Investor Warren Buffett Recommends: 5 Books For Turning Your Life Around Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo You Can Also Check: Chennai AQI | Weather in Chennai | Bank Holidays in Chennai | Public Holidays in Chennai | Gold Rates Today in Chennai | Silver Rates Today in Chennai Latshyamitra R says every time she opens her Instagram account, her feed is filled with matcha tea recipes. So much so that the UX designer got curious, bought 30g of ceremonial-grade matcha online, a premium quality powder traditionally used in the Japanese tea ceremony, for Rs 800. 'I made matcha drinks with caramel, strawberry and vanilla,' says Latsyamitra. 'I'm planning to bake next,' she says. Saravanan B V, a brand designer from Ooty, initially tried it for its high antioxidant properties and health benefits. But soon he fell in love with the taste and now collects matcha varieties. Not all matcha tastes the same, says Saravanan. Indian matcha has an astringent taste (a dry, puckering sensation in the mouth) that comes from the altitude difference and the way it is ground, compared to Japanese matcha. The Japanese matcha, says Alexander R K, chef at Dou, Nungambakkam, has a unique flavour profile; a delicate balance of earthiness, umami and subtle bitterness making it a versatile ingredient that blends well with sweet and savoury dishes. 'We are trying to use matcha as salt in barbecue meats and tempura,' says Alexander. 'They are still in a trial phase, but show promise among adventurous diners. We're also exploring matcha-infused sauces and glazes that can complement Asian-inspired small plates and grills,' he adds. Matcha Brownie Café owners and tea merchants say they procure their matcha from Japan or Assam (the only place in India where it is grown). Chota Tingrai in Assam's Tinsukia district is the only tea estate in the country that produces it. 'We've been making green tea at Chota Tingrai using Japanese technology since the 1980s, but matcha requires far greater precision and investment,' says tea manufacturer Mrigendra Jalan of Jalan Industries. The estate is experimenting with the Yabukita cultivar and its Assam equivalent, slowly moving toward Japanese standards with both ceremonial and culinary grades. 'The process is slow and costly, as one Japanese grinding machine costs Rs 40 lakh and produces just 10kg a day,' he says. South India has the potential to grow matcha, says Jalan, but the climate and altitude will influence its flavour profile. 'South Indian tea is not as strong as Assam tea, and less bitter. While Assam works on refining production, demand from Chennai, Bengaluru, and Ooty is already surging, pointing to a future where locally grown matcha could complement imports from Japan.' Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.
Indian Express
12 hours ago
- Indian Express
Why US Fed decided to stop crypto-focused supervision of banks introduced after Silicon Valley Bank collapse
In a fresh boost for cryptocurrency popularisation in America, the US Federal Reserve on Friday withdrew its Novel Activities Supervision Program which was unveiled in the aftermath of the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX and its domino effect on three lenders — Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), Signature Bank and Silvergate Bank in 2023. The Fed on Friday announced that it will 'sunset its novel activities supervision program and return to monitoring banks' novel activities through the normal supervisory process.' The move follows a series of pushes from the Trump administration — from the GENIUS Act to promote stablecoins (dollar backed cryptocurrencies) to an executive order allowing the investment of 401K retirement corpus in alternative assets including crypto coins. Bitcoin prices stood in red down over 1 per cent to $117,720.50 apiece on Saturday at 11:32 am IST. Ethereum's price was also down 4.55 per cent to $4,428.47 apiece from the previous day's close, according to data from Bitcoin and Ethereum prices neared record highs on Wednesday after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview to Bloomberg that the Fed should cut rates by around 50 basis points in September, since economic analysis indicates they should have been already cut by 150-175 basis points. Analysts stated that the rally in the two leading cryptocurrencies may taper off on potential profit booking by participants. The US Fed stated it had started the novel activities supervision programme to gain knowledge of banks' crypto-related and fintech activities. 'Since the Board started its program to supervise certain crypto and fintech activities in banks, the Board has strengthened its understanding of those activities, related risks, and bank risk management practices,' it said. The US central bank decided to scrap this specialised supervision and merge it with its 'standard supervisory process' for banks and financial institutions, the Fed added. This marks a change in stance from 2023 when the Fed in a joint statement with the US Federal Depository Insurance Corporation (FDIC) — which backstops bank deposits — said 'the agencies believe that issuing or holding as principal crypto-assets that are issued, stored, or transferred on an open, public, and/or decentralised network, or similar system is highly likely to be inconsistent with safe and sound banking practices.' Apart from the above order, the Fed also withdrew a joint guidance with FDIC flagging risks to banks from crypto-related deposits, in which they stated that crypto-related entities and stablecoin-related reserves were vulnerable to the confidence in these assets and susceptible to rapid outflows, making them highly volatile deposits. Previous orders requiring banks to seek the Fed's permission for dealing in crypto assets and stablecoin issuance were also withdrawn on Friday. The Fed's intervention focused on how banks deal and interact with cryptocurrencies was prompted by the collapse of the crypto exchange FTX led by Sam Bankman Fried (SBF), which triggered the collapse of three lenders, most importantly, Silicon Valley Bank. To be sure. SVB's decline was primarily guided by risky investments in short-term securities. However, along with Signature Bank and Silvergate Bank, SVB had exposure to crypto investors, which prompted the Fed's specific supervision of banks. The FTX exchange collapse, in which SBF was accused of channelling depositors' funds to invest in the cryptocurrency Luna which was used to prop up the TerraUSD stablecoin. Amid a mass Terra USD sell off, FTX and related entities gradually caved in owing to a loss of liquidity as well as allegations of fraud. Signature Bank and Silvergate Bank collapsed owing to their balance sheet exposure to FTX which led to a liquidity crunch amid panicked withdrawals by customers. These lenders also faced significant market sell offs, further squeezing their liquidity sources, leading to a bank run. SVB sold short-term Treasuries at a loss which squeezed its balance sheet amid a rise in withdrawals. It issued bonds to raise funds for meeting customer withdrawals, which triggered a spiral as spooked investors sold its stock and customers doubled down on withdrawals, leading to a bank run. SVB's practices were guided by funding requirements from the tech and crypto sector which turned to banks after funding from venture capital and private equity firms drifted up post pandemic, according to University of Washington Law Professor Anita Ramasastry.
Time of India
14 hours ago
- Time of India
After special $100 million bonuses and 'warning', OpenAI allows employees to sell $6 billion in stock to SoftBank, other investors
OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT , is in talks for a major secondary share sale that would value the company at an astounding $500 billion. According to sources familiar with the matter, current and former employees are planning to sell about $6 billion worth of shares to an investor group that includes Thrive Capital, SoftBank Group Corp., and Dragoneer Investment Group. While the deal is still in its early stages and the final sale size could change, this move gives employees a way to cash in their equity. This is a crucial strategy for startups like OpenAI to retain top talent in a highly competitive AI market, especially as companies like Meta Platforms Inc offer significant salaries to recruit AI specialists. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman called Meta's recruitment "distasteful" The fierce competition for top-tier AI talent has intensified, with Meta Platforms aggressively recruiting key personnel from OpenAI. The most notable defection is Shengjia Zhao, a co-creator of ChatGPT and GPT-4, who has been named Chief Scientist of Meta's new Superintelligence Lab. TThis aggressive poaching has rattled OpenAI, with one of its research officers, Mark Chen, likening the situation to "a home invasion." In a message to his employees, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman called Meta's recruitment "distasteful" and warned that such a compensation-first strategy could lead to "very deep cultural problems." In response, OpenAI has taken measures to retain its talent, including offering special bonuses and allowing employees to sell shares in the company, which is valued at a whopping $500 billion in this recent secondary sale. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Villas For Sale in Dubai Might Surprise You Villas In Dubai | Search Ads Get Quote Undo SoftBank's growing stake and OpenAI's massive ambitions SoftBank is making a substantial bet on OpenAI's future. This new share sale would add to its previous commitments, including its plan to lead a $40 billion funding round that values the company at $300 billion. The Japanese conglomerate also recently completed a separate $1 billion purchase of employee shares at a $300 billion valuation. If the $500 billion valuation is finalized, it would make OpenAI the world's most valuable startup, surpassing Elon Musk 's SpaceX. The company's revenue is also projected to triple this year to $12.7 billion, a significant jump from $3.7 billion in 2024. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has also signaled the company's massive ambitions, stating that it plans to spend trillions of dollars on the infrastructure needed to run AI services in the near future. "You should expect a bunch of economists to wring their hands and say, 'This is so crazy, it's so reckless,'...and we'll just be like, 'You know what? Let us do our thing,'" Altman said. AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
