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“This review is actually a review of a method of making matcha lattes rather than the matcha itself. Maybe I should move it to a heading of “cocktail shaker” under tea equipment and...” Read full tasting note
“After Westholme we enjoyed spending the rest of our day driving around some of the areas outside of Victoria, including some forest bathing and stopping at one of the many wharfs in the area – not...” Read full tasting note
These are samples that were sent for blind testing – grade of matcha unknown and source unknown. These reviews are more about the method of preparation than the matcha itself.
This review is actually a review of a method of making matcha lattes rather than the matcha itself. Maybe I should move it to a heading of “cocktail shaker” under tea equipment and paraphernalia!
When Red Leaf matcha lattes became all the rage on here, I bought a TON of matcha. I experimented with all sorts of ways to make it and finally settled on using an Aerolatte to whisk it all together. It struggles a little with thick honey but if you add just a touch of warm water or milk to “melt” the honey, it is easy. The problem is that I like my matcha lattes to be cold cold COLD!
I had read about people making lattes in a cocktail shaker, so I tried a Williams Sonoma Working Glass with rubber lid. Yes, I ended up with matcha latte all over me. In my hair, even.
Today I saw a cocktail shaker at an estate sale for five bucks and it appeared to have never been used! It even had a bottle opener and matching cheese knife inside, still wrapped in plastic. I decided I could give it a go as a latte maker and wouldn’t mind too much if it failed at that price. Besides, I needed a new bottle opener for the outside fridge where we keep our glass bottled sodas!
I sifted my matcha into the shaker. For those who participated in the blind study, it was sample five from Red Leaf from waaaaay back when we tested green, white, and black matcha. I added a tablespoon of honey, some milk, and some ice cubes. I put the lid on and shook it over the sink…..just in case.
No leaks! Yay! I poured it into my glass and a lovely froth topped my latte. I peered in the shaker and I could see tons more froth that I could have scooped into my glass, keeping or discarding the ice, but my glass was full so I didn’t. The honey seems to have blended fairly well, but I think it would have even more so if I had warmed it. Shaking it with the ice would have chilled it again and I would have gotten the icy cold temp I like.
I am going to try this next with raw cane sugar instead of honey. I have already had two lattes though, so I may wait a while!
Overall, I am really pleased with this method and tickled that I found a cocktail shaker so cheap, since I had been loathe to pay full retail for one.
After Westholme we enjoyed spending the rest of our day driving around some of the areas outside of Victoria, including some forest bathing and stopping at one of the many wharfs in the area – not the infamous one actually in Victoria though – that was another day.
While at the wharf we stumbled upon a fantastic little pottery shop where I bought a yunomi cup, and we also grabbed lunch at the cafe in the area. I ordered a matcha latte with a shot of caramel syrup in it, and it was actually really fantastic. Just sweet enough with the golden caramel complimenting the more umami notes of the matcha and the creamy, frothy milk really well. Cannot for the life of me remember the name of the cafe though since it was just a little pit stop in the otherwise packed trip – not somewhere we had intentionally sought to visit.
Hopefully ashmanra won’t mind if I piggyback off this tea entry instead of creating a new one, even though this isn’t related to what she had originally written about.
I do the cocktail shaker method sometimes, too! I’ve never tried it with honey, though. I’ll have to do that sometime :)
Hmmm. I have a bit of matcha left. Maybe I’ll give the shaken cold method a go with a mason jar…
I find sifting extra important for the cold method. Clumps suck!
Indeed, I did sift, but I pretty much always do now! Just tried again with sugar and it worked great! As the shaker sits and the foam goes down, you get to top off your glass with some more icy cold matcha!