Matcha

Here’s the deal. I know my way around different types of tea. That being the case, I still consider myself a noob. Matcha is what I know the least about.
This is what I know about matcha:
-It’s green.
-It’s powder.
-It’s used in Japan.

Anyone else want to shed some light on this? I just want some knowledge (and I wouldn’t turn down a sample if anyone is feeling generous). I also know that it can be used in different recipes and that there are different ceremonies relating to it.
Bottom line: I’m just a dude who loves tea and wants to broaden my knowledge.

25 Replies

Its quite meh hot without a chasen (bamboo whisk). A chasaku (bamboo scoop) make it more fun.
Flavoreds can be good.

I’ve been making mine with a blender bottle used for sports drinks/protien shakes. I can make it froth up, so I figured that was good enough. Would I still benefit from purchasing a whisk?

How would you use a chasen and chasaku? Actually, what are the point of them? I know a lot of places sell them with matcha, but is it not just like normal tea that you put in and steep?

Actually matcha is a powder (which you know) but it’s used more like a protein powder in that you don’t steep it, you just add water (and milk or whatever) and drink. Getting a good froth is important to the taste of the matcha as it tends to be more bitter without frothing so that’s what the chasen is for, although you can of course use an electric whisk or just a fork or something (as I did when just starting out). A chasaku is just one way of measuring it out. Using it may make the experience more authentic or ritualized or something but it’s not necessary to making the actual matcha unless you want it.

Sweet, thanks! What do you think tastes better? In milk or water? And is it hot or cold? Or are there any recipes you use matcha in to cook with?

The traditional way of drinking matcha (add a few ounces of hot water, whisk and drink) is too strong for me so I almost always make mine as a hot latte. My recipe goes something like this: sift matcha into cup. Add a couple of ounces of 175F water (not too hot or it will burn). Whisk with an electric whisk. Add 8-10 oz hot milk and about a half a teaspoon of sugar or so. Drink. You can also do this in a way of a cold latte too, though I’ve never done that since I prefer hot drinks. I imagine it goes much the same way except adding cold milk and ice cubes. The hot water to whisk is an important first step even if you’re making a cold latte because the hot water is what helps it dissolve.

I don’t cook so I don’t have any matcha recipes but here are a couple of threads that look like they might have a few:

http://steepster.com/discuss/305-what-are-your-favorite-ways-to-use-matcha-recipes
http://steepster.com/discuss/2689-cooking-slash-baking-with-tea
http://steepster.com/discuss/4777-aiya-america-matcha-recipe-impression-post

Thanks! That’s all very helpful.

And if I can suggest, if you’re going to be trying out flavoured matcha, caramel is a good first step to see if you’ll like it. It’s very highly rated. I have some with both green and black matcha bases if you want me to send you some. Also a bunch of other flavours if you want to try any out. Just look in my cupboard to see what I have.

I’ll take whatever you want to send! I’d just like to see if I like it before I actually buy some.

Alright. PM your address and sometime in the next couple weeks (I’m slow, lol) I’ll pack up a teaspoon or so of everything that I’ve got and mail it off to you.

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You know, I’m a matcha noob myself but I’m having fun experimenting with it. I got a bit from a bulk bin at Whole Foods. The brand was Allegro, and I’ve had some of their bagged teas in the past so I thought it would be decent. Nope. It was pretty bad. I hate to waste it though, so I’ve been mixing it with vanilla Greek yogurt and that’s been alright. Next I tried Republic of Tea’s matcha. It was about $18 for a 1.5oz tin. This was MUUUUCH better and I really enjoy drinking it. I’m still experimenting with my preference regarding amount of matcha and amount of water.

I saw a recipe for a matcha cheesecake on Reddit. My SIL loves making treats for my birthday and I’m going to see if she’ll make me the cheesecake this year :).

What does it taste like? I’ve never been too big on green tea, but I had some granola made with matcha not too long ago and it was tasty, and I’m willing to give anything a try.

It’s hard to describe. Green tea with more substance is the best I know how. It might be a problem if you’re not a green tea fan. Greens are my favorite.

I’m not a fan of green tea at all, but I love flavoured matcha. The best source for flavoured matcha around is Red Leaf Tea, although you can generally get a taste or two from swappers here on Steepster if you are willing to trade. People on here are pretty generous.

Uniquity said

I don’t like green tea or matcha, to me matcha definitely tastes like a very green vegetal tea. I can stand it more when it flavoured and done with cold water than but I still don’t really like it. I know that Red Leaf gets a lot of love around here but I didn’t find the quality to be there, though I did enjoy one of them (caramel). The other three tasted of chemicals. :( This may or may not be helpful, hah.

I’ve had the chemical taste problem. Sometimes it went away if I used less matcha, but at least one was so horrible it felt like my tongue was burning so ymmv.

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Matcha is amazingly good for you, it has something like 20 times the levels of antioxidants of apple juice. The reason for this is simply that you ingest all of the tea, rather than just what has infused in to the water.

As previously said, it can be consumed in lots of different ways. I have it every morning in a smoothie (too lazy to make it properly early in the day!). I’ve also seen matcha cakes on sale in a few paces.

It’s popular with athletes, I know of at least one gold medalist at the last Olympics who swears by the stuff!

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I had 12g of matcha today :\

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Has anyone bought from DoMatcha?

teapot1 said

I have tried Organic Domatcha, 1st harvest. It is really quite good…I read about it on another thread, and it was highly recommended. They did not steer me wrong. Now, in my opinion (and for my budget) it is pricey. If you keep asking questions, I’m sure that someone will have names of others that are very good and not so spendy.

I haven’t had it, but like teapot1 I’ve heard great things about it. Some people say it’s the best matcha they’ve had.

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Meeka select said

Silly question – I’ve tried to make matcha a few times and it never does froth properly while whisking…any suggestions? Not sure if I’m not whisking long enough or something else.

Uniquity said

I have the same problem but have been told that the intensity of the whisking (and the length of time) are big factors. Also matcha whisks better in warmer water, so upping your temp could help with froth (but also might result in bitterness, hah). Good luck!

Watch the water volume as well, a common mistake is to use too much water.

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lanestew, I wrote an article about matcha for my Japanese green tea blog: http://www.myjapanesegreentea.com/matcha

Hopefully you’ll find it useful : )

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