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My first foray into a matcha and I have to say I am impressed. I wisked this until frothy and the tea has a strong earthly flavor and is silky smooth. I may have used a tad too much of the matcha so I need to experiment with it but I am impressed with the flavor. Added a very small amount of sugar in the raw to help draw out some flavors and loved it.
Preparation
I got froth!
I understand what I was supposed to do now, went out and watched a video. I wasn’t whisking fast enough. Also understand why I thought the color would be lighter. With the froth, it’s more of a sea green than a pool table felt green.
Really yum and healthy feeling/tasting. It’s like drinking shots of wheatgrass only tastes a whole lot better and is a far more pleasing aesthetic experience.
And the chasen reminds me of my dad’s shaving brush in a kind of sideways way, which is kind of a sweet memory as well. :-)
Yes, the foam is definitely well- seafoam. Makes sense:) What I don’t like about some videos is they don’t give you exact amounts. I like exact amounts. You do know you’re not gonna sleep tonite right? lol I say this as I’m contemplating a matcha smoothie myself… um… lol:)
Yummm frothy matcha! Lol
Oh yay, I was looking forward to reading your note on this! By the way, I just use a small strainer by OXO to sift my matcha, and it works really well. Glad you got it to foam :)
Thanks! I placed an order with O Cha and ordered a sifter as part of that order. I don’t know whether it would have made a difference with this, though — it didn’t really seem to need sifting. No clumps or anything, seemed very smooth. Will be interesting to play around with this more. I was so focused on the process the first couple of times I wasn’t as focused on the taste.
I’m finding that ceremonial grade matchas are the only ones that really benefit from sifting which seems backwars to me. But then again maybe my constant usage of my hands and wrists pushing my chair have given me turbo wrists when it comes to whisking- which is funny cuz I’m always so afraid of whisking too hard in fear of busting my chasen.
the need for sifting should not seem backwards – since sifting is part of the art of making matcha, sort of like allowing some time to steep is part of the art of making tea.
Shanti: I use the same thing – I just have a small strainer I got from the utensil aisle from the grocery store – it’s not even from OXO – just a cheap strainer, but it works. A tea strainer would work also.
Matcha just needs a little aeration to get the most out of it.
I had matcha!
I think.
Now I have anxiety. ;-)
I finally have all my implements (except the sifter), so I decided to give it a try. But since I’ve never had it before, and have never even seen it before in real life, I have no idea whether I did it right. I tried to follow instructions but I have to confess I sort of winged it. I just added water until it was about half way up the chawan.
I was amazed at what it looked like. It was the color of the felt on a pool table or maybe a little darker; I thought it would be lighter colored? I didn’t get froth. Was I supposed to get froth? Like meringue froth, the kind that peaks and stands up? (Sort of doubt it, I didn’t get that kind anyway. More like a few bubbles around the edges. But I wouldn’t really call it froth so maybe I did it wrong?)
It was really delicious. Very sweet and green and tasty, but I wish I knew whether I’d done it justice.
How long am I supposed to whisk for? It was very smooth, not at all clumpy. I barely knew I’d whisked when I drank it, it tasted much like drinking steeped tea. (I have a feeling I made the thin kind.)
That does it, I have to go try again now.
Preparation
LOL! Yes. You had matcha. Don’t be anxious.:) I have this sifter and love it. http://www.lupiciausa.com/product_p/41401682.htm
Cheap and very effective. I use a metal teaspoon measuring spoon to get the matcha thru. My chawan is even the perfect diameter- the little loop thing rests on one side of the edge and the handle on the other suspending the basket over the chawan.
Matcha should be dark. I don’t call it “GREEN!!!” for nothing hehe:) You will never get hard peak foam no matter how hard you try lol. The one time I had it made for me it was much like beer foam that didn’t collapse when my lips touched it, but myself I just get tiny bubble bath like foam over the top. Sometimes just around the edges. Sometimes over most of the service. Different matchas foam differently, thickness is a factor as well. Although Koicha isn’t supposed to foam that much and I’ve had a few very foamy Koicha experiences.
You only need to whisk till the matcha is evenly mixed w/ the water. If you sip it and it’s too chalky/chunky, whisk again. Sifting also helps this. I advise not rushing your matcha experience. If you make an amount and drink and a speed that causes your matcha to start to separate, simply just give it a quick whisk and resume the experience.
Thanks for the tips, I need them!
Any time! Always more than happy to help people get over their matcha phobias/concerns:)
My package finally arrived! Included was a 1.06 tin of ceremonial grade matcha and a bamboo whisk (chasen). Thank you to DoMatcha for holding this contest! I decided to go ahead and prepare this thick style right off the bat. For those who are unfamiliar with matcha, there are two ways matcha is usually prepared: thick style (koicha) and thin style (usucha). Koicha is prepared using more matcha and less water, and thus requires very high grade matcha; using a lower grade matcha to make koicha will result in a bitter, undrinkable mess. Generally speaking, the higher the grade of matcha, the sweeter and less bitter it will be. I’m using the directions a friend of mine told me about preparing koicha, as well as the instructions listed at http://www.yuuki-cha.com/matcha_green_tea_powder.php. Note: These directions are for koicha (thick) matcha, and not usucha.
1. Sift 3.5 chashaku scoops of matcha into pre-heated, dry bowl.
The chashaku is a bamboo scoop that comes with many matcha sets. I read on a blog that the amount of matcha in a single chashaku scoop should be about the size of an almond—if anyone has learned tea ceremony, please let me know if this is accurate.
2. Heat 40-50mL of water to a temperature between 70°C and 80°C (158°F and 176°F).
I went with just under 50 mL of 165°F water which probably cooled down a little before I had a chance to add it to the matcha powder.
3. Add a small amount of the water to the sifted matcha to create a thick paste. Using the chasen (bamboo whisk), knead (don’t whisk!) the water and matcha powder together using up/down and left/right motions, or a calm 360° rotating motion.
The water and matcha paste actually was fairly smooth from what I could see, probably thanks to the sifting. It almost looked like green paint.
4. Add the rest of the water to the matcha powder. Continue kneading, not whisking, the matcha. Koicha is not supposed to be frothy, and the kneading should produce a tea that is thick, smooth, and without froth.
The resulting tea was thick and smooth. I was shocked because there was absolutely no bitterness. None. Whatsoever. Maybe my taste buds are off because I’m used to drinking very concentrated matcha using crappy quality powder, but really: I didn’t taste any bitterness or astringency. The flavor of the matcha was a little more on the savory side than sweet. It was vegetal and just lightly sweet, similar to steamed green beans, and oh so creamy…mmm. There wasn’t much of a sea or seaweedy taste. There was no grittiness or left-over clumps, and there was such a small amount of tea (50 ml) that there was no opportunity for settling. The temperature was a bit cool for me, probably because I sifted the powder after the water was done heating up, instead of before, so it just sat on my counter losing heat. Oops.
I prepared a bowl of my really low grade matcha from Mighty Leaf in the same way, and the result was a very bitter and had a thinner mouthfeel, for some reason. So, another plus of the DoMatcha ceremonial grade: the mouthfeel was really smooth, thick, and creamy. The Mighty Leaf was also gritty and didn’t mix as well as the DoMatcha, but that might have been because of error in preparation.
Unfortunately, this is the first ceremonial grade matcha I’ve ever tried, so I don’t have anything to compare it to. However, this is a really delicious matcha, and the lack of bitterness, the sweetness and savoriness, and the creamy and thick mouthfeel all make this one a winner for me.
Preparation
Best tasting note on Matcha Ever! :)
I know it truly is great and btw great note.
Terrific instructional note. This is a great how-to for me as I’ve never made matcha before and my chawan just arrived in the mail yesterday so now I feel like I am ready! Or I did, until I realized I had neglected to get a scoop. Hmm. Do I need a scoop before I can do this? Or alternatively, any idea how much a scoop translates into in teaspoons?
Morgana: I now have a chashaku scoop, but until about 2 weeks ago, I have been drinking Matcha (for years!) without one, a teaspoon works just fine, and using the “almond size” guideline as suggested in this tasting note would be a good starting point… and know that everyone’s tastes are quite different, so experiment a little to find what works best for you. Best of luck with it! Matcha is awesome!
Hmm, I’m not sure how much one scoop is in teaspoons, but if you can visualize an almond, that’s about the size of a scoop. A heaping scoop would be about 1 1/2 almonds, I suppose. :)
Also, if anyone is wondering how to make thin-style usucha, you use 1 1/2 to 2 scoops of matcha, and 70 mL of water. Whisk the matcha using a “W” or zigzag motion, and voila!
Almond with or without the shell?
Oh… you also don’t need a fancy sifter (a tea strainer works as does a simple, small strainer that I picked up in the grocery store for a buck fifty). You don’t even need a chawan… you can use a smallish cereal bowl. I used to use a fork to whisk my matcha until I finally broke down and bought a chasen… and that is the one tool that I would say is probably the most essential… but it could probably be replaced with a small wire whisk…
One more thing: definitely start out with usucha if this is your first time making matcha! Koicha can be kind of off-putting if you’re not used to making matcha, and even usucha can seem strong sometimes. I like to do 3 to 4 ounces of water and 3 to 4 scoops of matcha.
Another thing to keep in mind: koicha requires very high grade matcha, so I wouldn’t necessarily use 52teas or Might Leaf matcha to make koicha :) but of course, that’s what experimentation is for :)
Almond without the shell (I’m not sure how big they are with the shell), but I tend to do a little bit bigger than almost sized scoops since a lot of websites say “heaping” scoops…so yeah, I’m not totally sure about the size.
Yes, I totally agree with Shanti. I made that very mistake of making Koicha once with a lower grade of Matcha and it was not a good thing (but it is a mistake that can be easily remedied if you add more water to thin it out a bit…) This is one reason why I usually buy high grade Matcha now, unless I find a interesting flavor (Frank’s flavored Matchas have been amazing) or latte mix that intrigues me (I’m loving Domo’s chocolate and I love Pirate’s Chai). But for unflavored Matcha, I go with Ceremonial grade because I do prefer mine slightly thicker.
Just visualize a large, roasted almond without the shell… that will give you a nice starting point… and then experiment from there to find the “just right” scoop for you. Even with the chashaku scoop I still go by “eye” than I do by “scoop” because I’ve sort of trained myself to the amount that looks right.
I agree with LiberTEAS…the scoop isn’t precise (you can google chashaku for an image) and it really does come down to just eyeballing the amount you like.
Shanti: I wanted to add another thank you! for the wonderfully detailed note! I have yet to try (non-Starbucks) Matcha, but I know when I finally do that I’ll track this note down :D
Great tasting note very informative! Thanks Shanti!
Umm…yummy delicious amazing. I loved this I am so happy to have had the opportunity to try this, as I was one of the 10 winners. The best part is how long the flavor lingers past the sip and sollow. Even my 3 yr old daughter loved. She has a very sophisticated pallete. Don’t worry she only had a touch. I would recommend this to everyone.. Did I mention it has a sweetness that appears a minute or two after you drink it. Amazing! Thank you DoMatcha!
Preparation
I had a little bit of Crystal Light Lemonade left so I tried to salvage it buy adding 2TB lime juice and a tsp of matcha- James Bond Style. It worked pretty good but the obnoxious sweetness of the lemonade can still be tasted in the back of the sip sometimes. I like my home made lemon or limeade.
Preparation
Made black bean brownies: 1 package brownie mix + 1 14oz can unseasoned black beans blended, mixed well. No egg, oil, water, etc.
Topped with: Equal parts unsweetened cocoa, powdered sugar, plain white sugar, and matcha, sifted together. I’ve had this w/o the plain white sugar before and the texture gets a bit pastey in my mouth, so it’s a must. I just wish it would have been vanilla bean sugar.
Hair of the dog, of sorts, after my dairy disaster. 2 containers of Strawberry Fiber One yogurt w/ 1/2 a teaspoon of matcha in each. Don’t worry, these are safe lol! I’m hoping more matcha, the active cultures, and the fiber (10g total!) help ward off anything that might be brewing in my digestive tract.
Jade Limeade! (which makes more sense then Jade Lemonade since Limeade is green) Unfortunately this is not happy occasion. Today, purely on accident, I have consumed both bad sour cream (expired in May) and shredded cheese (although unopened, expired in June)… I’m not feeling sick, but I don’t want to wait around til I do. Unfortunately the packets of stevia I have equal the sweetness of 2tsp of sugar so I have to make a 2x cuppa. 4TB lime juice, 1 packet stevia, 12oz water, and 2tsp matcha. Although I normally do not have sweetened lemon or limeade, this was really good. Not just good… BETTER than regular limeade! The matcha gives it a whole new mouthfeel and tones down the sweetness.
“like” for the Matcha “dislike” the sour sour cream and cheese! LOL – seriously tho…I hope you don’t get sick! eeeeek! My fingers are crossed for you!
I hope the awesome powers of lime juice and matcha will negate any badness you consumed. fingers crossed Matcha limeade sounds wonderful, I’m going to have to follow your lead soon, esp. since it’s going to get HOT again this weekend!
How is it that you got your hands on both sour sour cream and expired cheese?
Items getting forgotten/not used in my fridge and not watching expiration dates Rachel:)
LOL :-). Hope you don’t get sick I can imagine it wouldn’t be fun.
So far so good! So I can’t imagine getting sick now. I’m gonna have some hair of the dog, of sorts, later- 2 containers (totaling 1 cup) of fiber one yogurt plus another tsp of matcha so the cultures, fiber, and matcha should help even more.
Day 2 of… um… mineral replacement lol. I filled my chawan w/ musk melon, sifted a tsp of matcha over it and stirred. Most of the matcha ended up w/ the juice at the bottom so I added 2oz hot water and whisked. Whoa! This has the best foam I’ve gotten yet! Ok, well it’s more like bubbles than real foam or froth. But it covers the entire surface of the matcha- I’ve never managed to get that before!:)
Another attempt at salvaging my SoBe water. SoBe matcha lemonade!
6oz SoBe Lifewater (yumberry pomegranate flavor)
2TB lemon juice
1tsp matcha
Served James Bond Style.
The flavor of the water pretty much gets lost, but the overpowering sweetness is perfect for a lemonade.
Preparation
KOICHA! It’s been a looong day. Up too late last nite. Madison got me up too early this morning. 4 hrs in a car. All afternoon at the museum (which included LOTS of pushing my chair, several hrs in dark rooms, and spending a lot of time straining my neck trying to read exhibit discriptions). And trying to stay up til mite. So I need koicha.
Attempt 2.
1tsp matcha sifted and 40ml water.
Thank God this does not look or taste like a chalky sand castle! It’s actually VERY smooth and creamy (still very thick of course) where as all other koichas I’ve made have been on the verge of too chalky/gritty for my personal taste. I need to sift my other matchas and revisit koicha w/ them. I’d love to give this a 100, but since it absolutely needs to be sifted, I can’t give it more than a 99.
Craaap. Ok I really need to think when I’m making matcha. Remember when I said I like following methods/recipes for making tea cuz it lets me go on autopilot? Well that only works if I think just enough to remember the recipe. I wanted to make koicha, but I used 75ml of water instead of 40. And I even took time to sift it which took foreeever… It was good, but I’m rather annoyed w/ myself.
Forgot to log my Usucha from before church yesterday. 1/2tsp matcha/75ml water. Didn’t sift it, but thankfully I didn’t need to. It was very thick (thicker than other Usuchas possibly?) creamy, vegetal, and GREEEN!!! (extra “e” completely intended lol). I’m scoring it as 100 for now. If I can’t figure out koicha, it may go down a couple points- but not much.
My matcha came today! This is my 1st ceremonial grade matcha so, of course, I had to make koicha!:)
1tsp/40ml hot water.
Hmmm… I’ve never had the matcha stay in one glob like wet sand when I add the water before… I’ve never had to… but maybe I should have sifted it?
It takes a lot of whisking, but I think I finally have a coheasive mixture. It’s thick and GREEN! As soon as I take a sip I realize it’s not really mixed after all… the chunkyness is not cool- it almost makes me want to gag. Due to this matcha fail, I’m gonna hold of rating.
Oh no I should be getting mine soon too. I am worried now. Maybe it was just bad luck.
Oh my! I’ve decided to finish up my teavana matcha before I open this one. I’ll be keeping an eye on your exploits — I hope it is better once sifted!
You should always sift Matcha (unless it’s a flavored matcha, because you may just end up sifting some of the flavoring bits out). Just like in baking, when you sift the flour and other dry ingredients, it helps to aerate the ingredients and the resulting product ends up tasting just a little better.
The same is true with Matcha – regardless of the company/quality of the matcha (except for, as I say, flavored matcha and matcha latte mixes)… you will have a better tasting matcha if you sift it. You should also always “pre-whisk” it, using just a little water and making a sort of thick paste out of the matcha before you add the rest of the water and whisk again. This will help ensure that your matcha is well blended.
LiberTEAS, I’ve never had a problem w/ not sifting it before… infact I’ve noticed that when I do it doesn’t mix w/ the water as quickly. I also have never had a problem not making a paste.
I’m not saying that it must be done, I am just saying that I have noticed a difference in the finished product when I sift, versus when I do not. Also… I just re-read my comment above, and instead of “thick paste” I should have said “thin” paste.
Of course, each person is welcome to prepare their matcha the way they see fit, with or without a chashaku (or even with or without a chasen and/or chawan) … if it works for you… great!
Yeah not sure why, until now, I’ve had better results not sifting or making a paste. Strange…
I will let you know how mine turns out when it comes in. It may have been the batch you got.
Liberteas, I agree with you. I’ve only had one matcha not require sifting for best results, and that was 52teas, I think because it gets double ground/mixed with the dried orange so it has less clumps. Then again, my results are very different from Coffteas….mandarin matcha is the only matcha I’ve ever had that didn’t foam, no matter how hard I whisked (I think because of the dried orange added in), but you’ve been able to get that (and the beer tea) to foam (without whisking, even!), so maybe you’re got awesome matcha skills I lack :)
lol no I think it’s pure awesome luck… because when I try to get it to foam I can’t. Or at least not as much as I should be able to. Exibit A being my Rishi matcha experience lol. But like I’ve said before- nearly all of my tea experiences are opposite of that of the general western tea population lol
Dude…you just lost a lot of customers, because no one likes a spammer.
Actually, they lost my sales earlier last nite. Posting a link to a woman wearing only a strategically placed bed sheet on FB is not ok. What’s with them today? Well that’s one place I won’t be getting my Breville.
Used my very last bit of this for a strawberry smoothie this morning. Unfortunately, there was SO little left that I can’t even tell that it’s there :( Which is a shame because I finally got a smoothie that was actually smoothie consistency. I have finally cracked the smoothie code! Go me!
Attempt at matcha smoothie number 2!
This one went much better. Longer blending + moar yoghurt is clearly the way! Still a bit runny though. I’m not sure I mentioned it yesterday, but these are actually my first attempts at smoothies, period, so…bit of a learning curve. Per advice received from someone whose smoothies I have tasted and found delicious, I will try adding banana to it to act as a thickener. I also have strawberries (2 packs for $3! I love sales), so I should probably use those up.
Ah well, that’s for tomorrow.
So I realize I’m not saying much about the smoothie itself. It tastes pretty good! Like kinda watery matcha ice cream. There’s an odd aftertaste which I’m not sure what to attribute to. Is it the almond milk? Or should I use different yogurt? I’m trying out a new brand of almond milk, so I’ll have to try it with some other teas to see if I’m still getting a weird aftertaste.
Also, even with matcha smoothie, I can’t seem to wake up! Have I grown immune to matcha!?!? …or should I just start going to bed earlier?
Tried out making a matcha smoothie today. I do not have much experience with smoothies so the result, while undeniably tasty was not really smoothie-like as such, but I will get better, I’m sure!
I think the yoghurt I used didn’t really go well with the matcha taste, I will have to experiment with different kinds. Sadly, I am almost out of this tin :( Need moar matcha!
Needed something refreshing this afternoon so I made myself a Jade Lemonade except instead of using lemonade I used Pomegranate Limeade from Trader Joe’s (and soda water, of course). As usual, the result was extremely tasty, with the matcha providing a creamy note of contrast to the tang of the limeade.
I am not gonna lie, Jade Lemonade has basically become my favorite cool drink. After making the arduous trek to the liquor store (3 blocks) I was totally in need of a cool drink. BAM! Thirst quenched! Healthy matcha consumed. Win!
I actually tried adding gin to it earlier this week as per DoMatcha’s suggestion but was too lazy to document it. I definitely approved though.
Cold foggy day not really suitable to jade lemonade, but I need something to wake up, so I made an almond milk latte instead. Hopefully the matcha will counteract the sleep inducing tendencies of warm milk! Recalling my almond milk fail from earlier this week, I decided it might have been a temperature issue and heated up the milk prior to pouring it in. Success! We have blendyness instead of weird clumping!
This is a much more subdued latte than those made with the latte mix. I like it though since it feels more like I’m just drinking a drink rather than a dessert.
