YAY! I’m finally well enough to make my matcha drinking chocolate that I wanted to have for breakfast Christmas morning.
3TB drinking chocolate mix and 1 scoop matcha in my bowl. 1/3 cup milk heated just to the point where small bubbles started to form on the top. Mixed completely. Do not use your chasen.
YUMMY! Rich, smooth, creamy, chocolatey… and way too much fun to drink hehe;) I do taste the matcha in the very back, but I’m thinking that might only be because I know it’s in there. I was hoping the matcha would come thru more due to the small amount of milk I used. Does anyone have a better recipe? Oh well. Even plain drinking chocolate drank out of a matcha bowl, especially for breakfast, is definitely a bright spot in my day.:)
I’ve known this for as long as I can remember, but just got confirmation of a very important lesson- God gives you exactly what you need exactly when you need it.
Even though she’s sick, mom decided to go grocery shopping tonite. We had planned to have something for dinner that required grocery shopping (eggplant parmigana w/ homemade chard and herb pasta) until she got sick. So we were just gonna make due, no big deal. But then she decided at 5:30 to go which means dinner would be insanely late.
I was starved and, since I hadn’t had my daily matcha, I decided to have half a bowl to tide me over. Mom walks out the door and I prep my matcha. I no sooner get it whisked (still no foam dang it) and my mom calls. She’s not going grocery shopping. My grandpa (who has emphazema and Parkinson’s) got the h1n1 vaccine before Christmas and since has had trouble breathing (even though he’s been on oxygen 24/7 for years), sleeps almost constantly, and isn’t eating (which for him is like me not drinking tea lol) so my grandma called an ambulance to take him to the hospital and wanted my mom to meet her there. It’s not enough for me to be delt crap, but now my family? So I did the only thing I could do. Told satan to go back to where he belongs and found comfort in my matcha. If I had my matcha earlier in the day, which is what I normally do, I wouldn’t have had this comfort literally in my hands when I needed it most. I love God’s timing.
Whoa… kinda wrote a book here… sorry… If there’s anyone still reading at this point to apologize to. If people still are and if you pray, please do. And go drink some matcha from a fun bowl- it’ll make you smile even when life makes you scream. Although I can’t hold my empty matcha bowl too long or I’ll be tempted to throw it lol.
1 scoop in my Yoplait light fat free black berry yogurt. Unfortunately the black berry was too strong for me to really taste the matcha, but this is a great breakfast or study break snack for when there’s no time to even make a bowl of matcha. Adding matcha to yogurt adds wonderful health benefits like the amino acid L-theanine, vitamins, minerals, protein, and fiber- along w/ a lil caffeine.
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?
White Chocolate Matcha Latte:
*1/4-1/3 cup water
*1/2-2/3 cup milk (liquid amounts depend on if you want a more concentrated 6oz cup or a less concentrated 8oz cup, I made an 8oz cup today)
*1TB- 4tsp white chocolate coffee creamer or shaved white chocolate (1TB for a 6oz cup and either 1TB or 4tsp for an 8oz cup, I went w/ 1TB)
Decided to try a latte since my cold is pretty much gone and the milk is fresh. Combined the water and milk and heated til small bubbles formed on the service. If you have white chocolate, I suggest using that and melting it into the milk and water double boiler style by heating the mixture over a bowl of boiling water being careful that the top bowl does not actually touch the water. I unfortunately don’t have white chocolate so I just went w/ coffee creamer. Added the milk and water to 1 scoop matcha and 1TB coffee creamer and whisked.
Not too bad considering until now the only way I drank milk was in an espresso latte and white chocolate really isn’t my favorite. No milk after taste (the only way I know how to describe it lol) like when I made it w/ pure milk. Maybe that was also in part to the white chocolate creamer? The white chocolate complimented both the milk and the matcha nicely. I think personally I’ll stick w/ my matcha flavored w/ herbal tisanes and drinking chocolate, but anyone who likes milk and white chocolate will love this!
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
Had a 12oz pepppermint hot chocolate yesterday and saved half. Poured it in my matcha bowl w/ 1 scoop of matcha and drank it while watching the season premire of Biggest Loser. Yeah I know, but all things in moderation:) The ratio of hot chocolate/ matcha was perfect… minty… sweet… indulgent… yet savory. The perfect grown up hot chocolate!
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.
Finally able to go back to prayer + share! Prepared this thick before leaving the house.
Prepared it as directed out of my huge matcha bowl, still can’t figure that one out. 3oz water/1scoop matcha.
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.
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.
Ugh… 1st a cold that knocks me on my butt for over a week, then I have a headache for 18 hrs and counting. Steeped ROT’s Get Relaxed (8oz water for 9 min 20 sec) and used that to make my matcha hoping that’d get rid of my headache. Sad… my 1st matcha purchase is gone… :,(
Now there’s talk of pumpkin chocolate matcha… yummy! That would be the perfect sweet/savory combo. But alas, I don’t have that. So it’s thick spiced rum matcha today. 3oz water/1scoop matcha/1TB spiced rum creamer. I love the idea of a rum creamer, but not too sure I like the creamy texture of it. Maybe 52teas will come up w/ something. In the mean time, rum extract goes on my grocery list.:)
Will things ever look up? I ended up wasting about a half hour of my time this morning just because people are ungreatful. On the upside, I’m feeling much better- especially after a hot bath. I had a bag of Get Relaxed! from the other day so I made the 2nd infusion (8 min, 6oz boiling water) and used that to make my matcha. Yum! I wish I could drink this all day.
UGH. Still sick… You’d think w/ all this matcha I’ve been drinking I’d have enough antioxidents in me to not only never get sick, but to live to be 120 lol! Anyway, plain unflavored matcha. Thank God the texture didn’t mess w/ my stomach.
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…
Vanilla matcha today. 1 scoop matcha/8oz water/1TB vanilla creamer. Lovely light mint color. Very creamy. Whisks well. Very vanilla-ish but the matcha still comes thru. Maybe only 1tsp of creamer next time.
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.
1/2 a bowl this morning before Prayer + Share because I discovered last nite a full bowl has way too much caffeine. 8oz water/1 scoop matcha. Does this count as breakfast?;)
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.
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.:)
Must… have… mandarin matcha… I practically had to tear myself away from my mandarin matcha to have this for my 2nd serving of the day. Don’t get me wrong, this is amazing! Made it thick (1 scoop/3oz water) as a palate cleanser for dinner- Wendy’s Asian boneless wings! Smooth, thick, a little creamy, and grassy. Heaven.
Holy crap! I haven’t had matcha since Wed.! I was going to have some earlier, but while my congestion is a lot better, my stomach was kinda off… so don’t ask me why I decided to prepare it per the website directions. 3oz hot water/1 scoop matcha.
Surprisingly, it’s not incredibly chunky like I thought it would be. On the contrary, it’s very good. I even got it to foam a little bit. Makes me wonder if this is a serving size of matcha, why is my matcha bowl so big?
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.
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.
