Den's Tea
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Still sick. Was craving a matcha latte, but I don’t want my congestion to get worse so no dairy for me. I think I’ll make chocolate matcha! Chocolate always makes people feel better. My friend gave me a tin of drinking chocolate for Christmas so I think I’ll use that.
1 scoop matcha, 8oz water, and 1tsp drinking chocolate mix. I backed way off on the chocolate mix (1/6th of a serving) and 2x as much water (it originally calls for milk) so it’s 12 times as thin as it should be, but that’s ok- I wanted to make sure the matcha came thru. A nice balance. Although I think it’d be better w/ at least some milk in it. anywhere from 1/3 water to 2/3 milk to all milk.
Preparation
Grrr… today is the kind of day you don’t want to be around me unless I have tea or coffee in my hand. Dealt w/ a very immature person that I used to care very much about last nite and woke up not feeling any better, emotionally or physically, than yesterday. Matcha always makes me feel better so I that’s what I went to this morning. My matcha better not talk back to me today.;) Got my new PINO kettle yesterday so used that to heat the water. The C/F conversion they gave me didn’t have every value so I’ll have to look up the complete chart online. I hate the US school system, it’s caused me to be very annoyed w/ temps that aren’t farenheight. Grrr… oh well. So I get it all set up, and read the directions. Well TRY reading them. The author of this doesn’t know English. Incomplete sentences and poor grammar. Then I couldn’t get it to work because it didn’t work quite the way I think the directions were telling me it was supposed to. I’m starting to understand why this product is discontinued… but I just can’t justify or afford paying an extra $30 for the newer model. Finally got the water heated. I thought this was gonna make preparing tea EASIER. I really didn’t have the patience to flavor it by this point. Heating all that water just for a cup is a pain. So I add the water to my matcha and whisk… and it seems weak today. Both in flavor and color. And the matcha seemed to separate from the water immediately… I just may burst into tears before the day is over… It’s a bad day when even my matcha disappoints me…
Preparation
Holy cow. Woke up w/ a HORRIBLE cold. Coughing, sore throat, sneezing, sinus congestion. Definitely gonna make my cold soother blend later. But 1st, my morning bowla matcha. Pine matcha today.
40 chopped pine needles steeped in 8oz boiling water for 25 min. Decant and reboil. Add to 1 scoop matcha and whisk. Wow… I’m shocked. The pine is VERY faint. It’s in the very back of the sip, but I don’t think I could identify it if I didn’t know it was there. Oh well. Plain matcha is nothing to complain about. It sooths my throat and lifts my spirits.
Preparation
It sounds interesting. I hope you soon feel better. My mother always said that the cure for the cold was broth soup (chicken soup for her, miso soup for me) and hot buttered rum.
I’ll change that to tea and hot buttered rum:) Stay tuned for my cold soother recipe;)
You know, I’m reading so much on Steepster about people with colds, I’m beginning to wonder of the cold virus can be spread by Internet. Pine sounds like a wonderful comfort for a cold.
A friend gave me some hazelnut syrup and that got me wondering how hazelnut matcha would taste. The only thing that concerned me was that it’d be too sweet. I put 1tsp (1/6 of a serving!) in 6oz of tea yesterday and it was very sweet. Oh well, let’s try it.
1 scoop matcha, 8oz water, 1tsp hazelnut syrup.
Hmmm… A little lighter than normal, maybe because of the syrup? Yep it’s sweet. Flavor is good though- can still taste the matcha. Like with any tea- if you like sweetened tea, you’ll like this.
But I still can’t get the blasted stuff to froth.
Preparation
I’m so proud of myself! I knew I wanted ginger matcha this morning, but I also know that I run late in the morning (one of the blessings of matcha- it’s quick, no steeping time) and wouldn’t have time to make my ginger water so I did it last nite. 1.5g/8oz boiling water steeped for 3 min and refrigerated.
I was kinda leary about this one because, by weight, there’s more ginger in here than matcha but it actually turned out wonderful. Smooth, grassy, w/ a bit of bite.
Preparation
Rishi has a sweetened ginger matcha, but does anyone know of an unsweetened version by Rishi or another company? Having the flavoring already added would save me time and eliminate the left over ginger root that I need to find a use for if I don’t want to waste it. That amount is awkward for me since I normally make 6oz cups of tea and I REFUSE to do math lol.
Ok Sara… BREATHE! I need something to calm me down after all this excitement so I’m going back to the very thing that all this excitement kept me from, my morning bowla. I loved the creamy texture of my matcha latte yesterday but wasn’t thrilled w/ the strong milk taste so I decided to use a bit of coffee creamer. For a half bowl: 1 scoop matcha, 8oz boiling water, 1TB spiced rum creamer. Now they suggest 1 TB for every 6oz of coffee (or in this case matcha), so if you want to add an extra teaspoon to increase the creamy texture and the flavor go a head.
I love the pretty mint color that adding creamers and milk gives it, I think it’s even better than it tastes. Not to mention that it’s easier to whisk. It’s creamy like yesterday, but w/o the undesirable milk taste. That’s replaced w/ a hint of spice and rum that balances w/ the matcha instead of competing w/ it. If the flavor appeals to you but you don’t want the milky texture, add a bit of rum extract. Or the real thing if you desire. I’ll still be stalking the holiday contest thread- probably so much I won’t be drinking a lot of tea, but at least now I’m calm enough I won’t be having a heart attack.=D
Preparation
Backlogging from this morning.
Made a matcha latte by swapping the water for milk. It whisked up easily and formed a pretty mint green color. It was smooth on my tongue w/ a creamy matcha taste. The milk taste was quite strong (not that the matcha was by any means weak), but maybe that was just me- I only like milk in lattes and after trying matcha lattes I think I’ll stick w/ espresso ones. I think I’m going to try a mixture of water and milk next time. Any ratio suggestions?
Preparation
Based on absolutely nothing at all, I’ll say go 1/3 milk and 2/3 water.
hey, all of my tea flavoring experiments have been based on no prior experience so I’ll trust you!:)
Let me know how it goes.
Will do! I have flavor plans for the next 2 days, but be sure to check out my tasting note for Thurs. Although I hope you’ll check out all my matcha kaze notes:)
Love that you have your tea drinking preplanned. =) It reminds me of people planning their reading for the month on LibraryThing. I’ll be sure to look for it in your upcoming notes.
It’s more out of necessity, I have so many good ideas and good teas that I’d spend more time deciding what to have than drinking it. I’ll be a lot less methodical w/ my matcha flavors once I try all my ideas. I’ll base which ones I revisit when based on cravings. The only other time I plan my drinking is what tea I’m gonna take w/ me to church to steep in my coffee purely because I’m not a morning person and need to bag it up the night before and in the summer when I make iced tea.
@chrine, I have a REALLY good idea for flavored matcha I have to try so my matcha latte will be pushed back to Fri.
lol No rush, Cofftea.
So I wanted to try a matcha latte today. But… Milk went bad. Oh well, it was mom’s 1% anyway and I drink skim. So plan B. I have instant cappuccino mix! Irish creme flavored. Due to the fact that it does have instant coffee in it, I’m DEFINTELY only gonna make a half bowla. If you want a whole bowl, double my recipe.
Boiled 8oz of water. While that boiled I added 1 scoop of matcha to the bottom of my bowl and 3TB cappuccino mix (They say 3TB for 6oz, but I was afraid I’d never taste the matcha, but if you want feel free to add an extra TB) and wisked together. What a pretty mint green color! When the water came to a boil I whisked it. It seemed to whisk better this time. Of course I couldn’t tell you if I was able to get it to froth or not because of the mix. Instant cappuccino mix doesn’t form a foam on top like normal cappucinos so it looks much more like a blended latte. Looks like a coffee shop’s version only in a bowl. Good idea- email Starbucks and tell them to serve them in bowls, or at least those large cups they use for caramel macchiatos- and while I’m at it I’ll tell them to use real matcha lol. Anyway… OH MY GOSH! WOW! I think even when I don’t add matcha I’m gonna drink my lattes and cappuccinos from this bowl! It’s just too much fun! It tastes much like it does w/ water. The matcha isn’t very strong, but increases slowly w/ every sip. Thank GOD the instant coffee doesn’t clash w/ it. I was worried about that. I also noticed that not only did it whisk easier, it didn’t separate as fast. Matcha is a relaxing and indulging daily experience for me so the only thing I don’t like about drinking it is I have to drink it rather quickly. This allowed me to savor it more. This would be a fun idea for holiday parties (maybe use a vanilla or chocolate flavored mix and steep peppermint leaves in the water before adding the mix and matcha) or for St. Patrick’s day due to the color.
Preparation
Another attempt at flavored matcha. I saw someone log spearmint yesterday and that gave me an idea to use orange mint this morning.
1.5g of dried orange mint steeped in 8oz just shy of boiling water for 3 min. Brought it up to a boil and poured it in my matcha bowl that already had 1 scoop (1g) matcha in the bottom. Whisked.
Mmmm… love the smell! The orange mint tisane turns it a weird dark yellowish green, but I don’t mind. And the taste! Oh my gosh. The mint is strong, but you can still taste the matcha. The orange gives it a slight sweetness. It’s weird, but this is another smoother matcha than using just plain water… infact, I have no desire to cleanse my palate today. Remember when I said I didn’t care for mint flavored teas anymore except for cocomint green? Well this is definitely one exception! Now I just need to figure out how to incorporate the chocolate component. Chocolate milk maybe? If you can handle the caffeine, this would be great when you’re under the weather!- Especially if your life’s responsibilities don’t leave you time to be sick.
Preparation
Try 2 for flavored matcha. Hmmm… what to flavor it w/? I sure don’t need anymore caffeine so a 1st infusion of true tea is out. I have a few herbals! I have spearmint, orange mint, lemon verbena, and ROT’s Get Relaxed! Matcha is a comforting experience for me so I think I’ll use that.
Boiled 8oz of water instead of my normal 6 for Get Relaxed! and steeped it longer as well, 9 min and 20 sec. It resulted in a dark browny orange liquor and smelled of light rose. Reboiled it, added a scoop (yes only ONE this time lol) of matcha to my bowl, poured the tisane over the matcha, and whisked.
SUCCESS! This is a WONDERFUL use of herbals which I don’t drink solo. The result was a light rose flavored comforty goodness. I know the texture of the matcha comes from the matcha itself, but it seemed to be smoother today. Maybe because of the rooibos? If anyone has other ideas of how to flavor matcha, PLEASE post them in the flavored matcha forum thread.:)
Preparation
Crap. I wasn’t thinking when I made this and put 2 scoops in half a bowl. My tongue is happy but my stomach isn’t. It was good til the last sip, then it got chunky. I used a 3rd infusion (1.5 teaspoons/8oz boiling water steeped for 1 min 40 sec) of Adagio’s cocomint green to make it instead of plain water, but w/ 2x the matcha, didn’t taste it. Gonna retry it sometime. Why can’t I get this to foam? Tomorrow I’m gonna try to remember to try it latte style.
Preparation
backlogging, last nite OH MY GOSH! I could just slap myself. My matcha set came a day early than I expected and I didn’t even hear it being delivered! Mom noticed it when she came home. I could have had it long before I should have cut off my caffeine… and I just couldn’t wait! 16oz water/2 scoops matcha. This is the 1st time I’m making this myself. The only other time I had it was Rishi brand and it was lighter in color and had a foam on top… The lack of foam I’m just attributing to my lack of experience whisking. Rich, lucious, decadent, a little sweet yet bitter, and a little grassy finish. YUM!
Preparation
I can’t believe the brewing perameters on this! The info they sent me clearly states 1/2TB (1.5tsp) steeped in 4oz boiling water for 1min for senchas, but the bag says 1tsp/6oz in 190 degree water for 3 min. I’m sticking w/ the sheet.
Preparation
2nd and 3rd infusions combined. 8oz boiling water steeped for 3min. In light of the bitterness of the 1st infusion. I did something I RARELY do. I decided to sweeten it. 1 packet of stevia. Idea isn’t bad, but too sweet. next time gonna steep it in 16oz for 7 min 40 sec. You could just use half a packet, but to me that’s a pain and a mess.
Japanese greens have very specific steeping parameters. Each green from company to company can be radically different. I’ve heard of greens that require 2 tbsp.
@teaplz, it shouldn’t be the company that makes the difference. Each sencha SHOULD be the same. Are other teas (black, chai, pu erh, white, oolong) from Japan similar? What about from other countries? This is the 1st I’ve learned of steeping according to sub type of tea (sencha vs. just green) and can’t find this info for other kinds.
No, each sencha is not the same. Like every other tea, sencha has many varieties. Depending on which sencha you’re drinking, steepage might be different.
In fact, in general, there are two broad categories of sencha: “Two types of sencha are available. They’re differentiated by the length of steaming time: there are lightly-steamed (regular) senchas and deep-steamed senchas. Generally speaking, teas from the select growing zones and higher-grade teas (such as the first-harvest teas discussed below) are processed with shorter steaming times to retain their natural flavor. Deep-steaming is a relatively new processing method. Advantages brought by longer steaming are a milder yet rich-bodied taste with less bitterness, brilliant green brewed color, and easier brewing.”
http://www.greentea-direct.com/about_hishidai/sencha_gyokuro.html
So yes, you have to change your steepage time for each different tea depending on varietal.
Further information on the difference senchas: http://www.amazing-green-tea.com/sencha.html
Not all teas are the same.
@teaplz, I think there was some miscommunication on my part. What I meant was that all premium sencha should be steeped in an amount of 1.5tsp of leaf in 2-3oz of 160 degree water for 90 sec no matter what company it comes from. Same w/ sencha, Premium Fukamushi-Sencha, and Fukamushi-Sencha with their own unique parameters.
What I was trying to say is that different companies can order different types of sencha, and suggest different steeping times as a result. That’s why each company can have very varied steeping suggestions. It’s all to taste, anyway. Different amounts of buds vs. leaves, different varieties of plants, different roasting procedures, all of these can change suggested steep times.
If every company’s premium sencha tasted exactly the same, then why would anyone bother drinking several different companies’ varieties? It’s because no two teas are ever alike, and no one’s taste buds are ever alike.
I don’t think that tea can ever be an exact science. One man’s “BLECH!” is another man’s “MMM.”
Although I’ve gotten in trouble for saying so, I definitely agree "One man’s “BLECH!” is another man’s “MMM.”", but I also think that while different teas of like type (premium sencha for example) should be steeped using the same parameters to amplify the differences. Just my way of thinking of course. It just doesn’t make sense for them to include that pamphlet and then suggest alternative steeping perameters.
I get confused easily lol. And contradictory info DEFINTELY confuses me:)
Hrm. One might be Japanese-style and the other might be Western-style steeping? That’s what it looks like to me!
@teaplz, that’s exactly what I think it is- but I don’t think a company should publish both (especially w/o specifying the difference). It confuses my poor tea-logged brain cells. Don’t get me started on Western style steeping LOL. I’ll stick w/ Japanese style steeping. It never occured to me that the way we drink it here could be different than in their countries of origin. Now that I do, I’m going to strive to steep each type of tea authentically.
4th & 5th infusions combined. 8oz of water steeped for 5 min. Not a whole lot of apple flavor, but definitely a sweet green tea. Dumping the leaves out cuz most of them are so small they’re getting mushy- does anyone else have that problem w/ Den’s Tea?
Infusion 6 of my apple chai sencha. 1st noticably stronger liquor since infusion 3. Strongest so far. Aroma is light and slightly spicy and the taste is mostly (although still lightly) spicy, but the sweetness from the apple (that doesn’t taste like apple anymore) makes it not harsh.
Preparation
Infusion 2 of my apple chai sencha blend. 40 sec.
The liquor reminds me of a white tea. Light and clear. The aroma is mostly of apple (a good thing as the steeping time increases) with just a touch of warmth from the spice. The taste is much like the 1st in proportion, but a bit stronger.
Preparation
Decided to make my own green apple chai this morning. I blended 1.13g of apple sencha w/ 1.13g Adagio’s bengal green chai. For some reason the sweetness of the apple came out more instead of the jolly rancher, although there was still a bit left. Maybe because I measured it by weight this time? The spice was stronger than I expected for only steeping it 30 sec., but still light. For a stronger flavor, use 2.25g apple sencha and 1.13g chai spice mix (sans tea). Steep 30 sec to 3min.
Preparation
Infusion 7. Oh my gosh… I honestly don’t see why some people don’t resteep their leaves. Not only does it save money, but they’re REALLY missing out flavor wise. Sure you have to wait a lil longer for the leaves to steep, but it’s SO worth it! Although, gotta love being at infusion 7 w/ this tea and only having to wait 2 mins after the water comes to temp. I’ve always steeped my leaves, but w/ every new tea I try I am more amazed at how each infusion can be so different!
The liquor is only a bit, if any, lighter than the 6th infusion. The sent is very faint, but is definitely of green tea. Most of the sweetness is gone, but that’s fine- if I had 7 cups that tasted exactly like the 1st infusion I’d be bored and would have wasted the leaves by dumping them a while ago. It’s a clean green tea.
