How to prepare matcha green tea
WHAT YOU NEED TO PREPARE MATCHA GREEN TEA
- Organic Matcha green tea
- Chawan – Matcha Bowl
- Chasen – bamboo Matcha whisk
- Chashaku – bamboo Matcha scoop
- Furui – Matcha sifter
- Thermometer
You can try to use available utensils to prepare matcha green tea but it may not turn out well. Using traditional Japanese matcha utensils may increase your chances of making the perfect bowl of matcha thus possibly enrich your matcha experience.
STEP BY STEP PREPARING MATCHA GREEN TEA
There are two main ways of preparing matcha green tea; thick (koicha) and thin (usucha). You can’t make koicha matcha from an usucha matcha, so please make sure you know which type of matcha you have before preparing it.
STEP 1 – SIFT TO AVOID LUMPS
Use the bamboo scoop chashaku to scoop about 2 scoops for Usucha or 3-4 scoops for Koicha matcha green tea and place it into the bowl. Sift the matcha into a cup using a small sifter or furui. The matcha is forced through a sieve in order to break up clumps by using a wooden spatula. If the sieved matcha is to be served at a Japanese tea ceremony, then it will be placed into a small tea caddy known as a chaki. Otherwise, it can be scooped directly from the sieve into the chawan.
STEP 2 – HOT NOT BOILING WATER
Fill up the chawan with 1/3 (about 60-80ml) of hot water NOT boiling water (70–85 °C or 158–185 °F). Use the thermometer if you have to.
STEP 3 – MIX
Pour the matcha powder in STEP 1 into the hot water in STEP 2.
STEP 4 – WHISK
Use the bamboo whisk chasen to whisk the mixture to a uniform consistency. Do hold the whisk and bowl with each hand. There must be no lumps left in the liquid, and no ground tea should remain on the sides of the bowl.
To prepare usucha matcha green tea, whisk the matcha briskly in a zig-zag manner until the matcha has a thick froth with many tiny bubbles on the surface like beating an egg. For Koicha matcha green tea, since it is thick, blending it requires a slower, stirring motion that does not produce foam. Instead of fast whisking, a slower kneading action from left to right, up and down can be used to make a thick consistency. The resulting tea should be reasonably thick, smooth and without froth.
STEP 5 – READY TO DRINK!
Enjoy your organic matcha green tea straight from the bowl!