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Pure Japanese Matcha from Vices and Spices
76

Tried sifting the matcha in order to have it plain today. Dissolved very nicely so it looks like sifting is the way to go with it. It’s interesting because the color was darker than i expected it to be, more towards olive than other matchas I’ve seen. I may have added too much water though, I am out of practice with plain matcha.

Plain, this matcha seems to have a much lighter taste than either the DoMatcha or the strawberry matcha, but once again, I may have diluted it a bit too much. As expected it doesn’t have the smoothness that the DoMatcha has, but I mentioned before that it is pretty cheap stuff. HOLY shit I just saw a frickin HUGE squirrel. I thought it was a cat at first, and it’s tail was, like…SO FLUFFY. ahem back to the matcha! (note to self: matcha does not help short attention spans) Anyway, clearly this is a matcha for mixing with stuff – not as awesome for mixing as the strawberry matcha, of course, but not something I’ll be falling over myself to drink plain unless I REALLY need a quick energy boost.

People who liked this

LiberTEAS
RachanaC (Rachel)-iHeartTeas
__Morgana__
Rijje
Angrboda
Stephanie
chrine

Comments

LiberTEAS
LiberTEAS 2010-09-11 14:44:09 -0400

When I first started drinking matcha, I never thought that sifting would make that big of a difference but it really does. I don’t sift the flavored matchas though – I did so the first time I tried the Mandarin Matcha from 52teas, but, I realized quickly that what I was doing was sifting out a lot of the orange flavor!

Cofftea
Cofftea 2010-09-11 14:44:59 -0400

Haha! Awesome tasting note… although the fact that you just got back from Japan and are out of practice w/ matcha is so wrong on so many levels. Interesting… DoMatcha just posted on FB that matcha helps ADHD.

Ewa
Ewa 2010-09-11 14:47:33 -0400

Yeah, I read in someone else’s tasting note that the flavored ones (especially from 52teas) don’t really need it. (This sort of knowledge base building is a big part of why steepster is so awesome :D) But I’m guessing as far as plain matcha goes, the vast majority of them need it.

Ewa
Ewa 2010-09-11 14:50:46 -0400

@Cofftea: ahahahaha, CLEARLY THAT IS LIES. My anecdotal evidence obviously outweighs whatever studies they are drawing on :P
Yeah it is a little silly, but I didn’t have matcha at all when I was in Japan, unless it happened to be mixed into a bottled iced tea. I DID have a lot more oolong then I usually do, so…I’m not sure what that means!

Cofftea
Cofftea 2010-09-11 14:51:20 -0400

Yeah I agree flavored matchas don’t need to be sifted- infact due to the flavoring some can’t. My apple is really clumpy. I normally am too lazy to sift, I just whisk the heck outta it lol.

LiberTEAS
LiberTEAS 2010-09-11 15:01:08 -0400

When the clumps in flavored tea are large enough, I try to break them up with my chashaku before I add water… then, add just enough water to make a paste – whisking it to dissolve the clumps before I add more water and do the final whisk.

Cofftea
Cofftea 2010-09-11 15:12:04 -0400

I do the same LiberTEAS, but I have no luck breaking them. (I got hit in the eye w/ a huge piece of matcha coated apple once lol.) Luckily, I’ve found these clumps dissolve completely when water is added.

Jaime
Jaime 2010-09-11 15:20:12 -0400

Cofftea, the mental image that the matcha coated apple brought to my mind is hilarious. I’ll have to wear goggles if I ever try matcha, because I’m sure that my klutzy self would do something exactly like that.

Cofftea
Cofftea 2010-09-11 15:26:25 -0400

Just don’t try to split a clump up and you’ll be fine:)

Ewa
Ewa 2010-09-11 15:28:40 -0400

Man, who knew that drinking matcha had such dangers!
@LiberTEAS: I do the paste thing too, unless I am feeling lazy (which, to be fair, is most of the time)

Jaime
Jaime 2010-09-11 15:35:57 -0400

Noted! Now to be brave and find some matcha!

Cofftea
Cofftea 2010-09-11 15:37:25 -0400

Yes… do it! Since they’re in limited quantities, I suggest 52teas 1st- they’re all great!:)

Ewa
Ewa 2010-09-11 15:39:40 -0400

(but then they will run out and you will be sad ;_; or your brother will steal it and will SAY that he is going to send it to you but you know that he is secretly drinking it)

Cofftea
Cofftea 2010-09-11 15:48:25 -0400

“Better to loved and lost than never to have loved at all” That applies so well to 52teas, Frank should put that quote on their website LOL!:)

Jaime
Jaime 2010-09-11 15:55:54 -0400

Well, I’m loving all of his teas that I’ve tried so far. Got a list to order…might as well add a match while I’m at it, right?

Cofftea
Cofftea 2010-09-11 16:00:27 -0400

YES! Definitely worth the sticker shock… remember these are 2oz, the last 2 were only 1oz.

Jaime
Jaime 2010-09-11 16:07:50 -0400

I’ve spent more than that on a tea before. Leaning towards banana right now. Have any of you had that one?

Cofftea
Cofftea 2010-09-11 16:09:35 -0400

I have. I’ve bought and tried every matcha Frank’s come out w/. It tastes exactly like Banana Runts candy.

Jaime
Jaime 2010-09-11 16:19:27 -0400

Oh, my. Adding it to the list now.

Cofftea
Cofftea 2010-09-11 16:48:05 -0400

Yes, they are all very good. If your wallet can afford it, your tongue and stomach will thank you a million times over:)

Stephanie
Stephanie 2010-09-13 23:43:11 -0400

lol! Love the squirrel blurb! :)

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Profile

Bio

I’m a Pole who grew up in Texas, is currently a graduate student in California studying Japan. How’s THAT for random?

Being Polish, my family has always drunk a lot of tea, and I am no different. I may drink more tea than water. On the other hand, I can’t say that I’m very particular about it; I’m generally pretty careless with steeping times and water temperature and I don’t even have a proper teapot (mostly because the lid broke during the move to California ;_;).

I always drink my tea unsweetened and I only add milk in the case of the most egregiously chai-ish of chais. (not really a big fan of milk in general)

Given that so many of my entries seem to be about my morning tea, I felt I should add something here about me and mornings: I fail at mornings. I fail at them a LOT. Therefore I often also fail at proper tea making in the mornings.

Location

Santa Barbara

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