Ooika

I need to write to Marc and thank him for this, and Davidsons’, and finish the Substack… and post on the MN Tea socials… But sometimes after a busy morning what our brains need is a moment to just chill.

First I need to reiterate that this was a sample Marc sent to me. I interviewed him about his company, Ooika, back in February and I tell you this guy is going to shake up the matcha industry!

We opened and tried it for the first time at the MN Tea Society on Mar 22nd. (Free to the public). The first brew was great. However, what was more interesting were people’s reactions. The lady who preferred Diet Coke, you could tell this was too much for her. But the lady who practices Urasenke, she could tell this was top of the line. We were split between liking it before or after the higashi (a dry Japanese sweet made entirely of very fine high-grade sugar).

Freshly gound matcha… you guys. If you haven’t tried some yet even just the color will blow you away.
Dry Aroma: Creamy. A bit nutty, more along the lines of a pecan. Lovely hints of fresh cut grass.
Dry Appearance: GREEN. So very green. The powder is smooth.
Whisking. Fairly easy to whisk into a foam. I’d say this is a slightly lower-grade milling because of the 3 or 4 bowls I’ve made each has contained a fair amount of big clumps. Could just have to do with this cultivar or something.
Taste: Like crystal clear water with delightful creamy and nutty notes.
Suspension: Stays for quite awhile. Not that I generally have long enough to see it sink because I just want to drink it ^^;

Please do check out Ooika: https://ooika.co/
And if you have time read his interview while drinking a cuppa: https://teatiff.com/2025/02/14/ooika/