Matcha Green Tea Traditional

March Sipdown Prompt – an unflavored green

I made a pitcher of this to go with lunch – cold steeped, sweetened, and poured over ice.

I made it by their cold steep instructions with misgivings. Only two to three minutes in cold water? I left it for a little over three minutes, using four teabags for about a quart of water total once I added the simple syrup to sweeten it.

I really want to make a fresh batch tomorrow because this came out unbelievably light. I want to steep it in hot water and then chill it and see if more green tea flavor appears. How ironic that the prompt was for an unflavored green.

It must be said – I am NOT A FAN of standard green teas. Having recently found out I was brewing them too hot (boiling water – URGH!), I have revisited a number of them. While this does reduce the bitterness, I was disappointed that they still taste like, well grass. Not that I have eaten grass, but they taste like it smells (or rather what cut grass smells like after it starts to dry out, something Aussies really know about because of the recent droughts). And because green tea has been advocated for good health, I REALLY wanted to like it…
Well, after much searching I may have found my go-to green tea.
The advantage is this one is designed to drink hot or cold! On that basis I bought two 20 infuser boxes on a twofer deal, so thank goodness I like it…
Admittedly I have only tried it cold so far, but the matcha/green tea combo means the grassy taste of the green tea comes through but doesn’t dominate. There’s that lovely earthy umami taste the matcha adds.
I added the teabag to my water bottle & left it in, as the taste wasn’t that strong even after 3 mins. I imaging if you leave it in indefinitely the typical green tea bitterness will start to dominate, so maybe about 5 mins max, or if you’re a fast water drinker, just finish the bottle!
I’ll have to try it hot next – they recommend the very short steeping time of 30 secs (time for 3-4 dunks) so it will be interesting to see how it turns out.

NOTE – I dropped a bag in to cold infuse before heading to work (about 15 mins drive). Then got distracted by said work, so at least 20-30 mins before my first sip and yes, BITTER. So about 5-10 mins maximum seems to be the optimum time.

This is probably one of my absolute favorites. When blended well, it’s sooooo smooth, and nothing needs to be added to it in order to make it the perfect cup. It just is. If you happen across this at the store, do yourself a favor and try it out.

A delightful, comforting cup of matcha! It goes down smooth and has a savory taste to it that doesn’t overwhelm you. I like to drink it in the middle of the day to give me a gentle energy boost; it perks me up and doesn’t have the added caveat of a crash later that coffee might have. I usually don’t add anything in it or steep other herbs with it, but a little bit of vanilla creamer or milk is bound to be just as wonderful.