Recipes · Refreshments

A Pint of Matcha

Seth Jovian
Print Recipe
A bottle full of umami and antioxidants, at exactly the right temperature, that you can sip over a few hours. Slightly more caffeine as the equivalent amount of coffee, helps with focus, and doesn't cause an energy crash.
It's a delicate process, but quick once you get the hang of it. The specialty equipment goes a long way, but you can substitute with more standard stuff in a pinch.
Prep Time5 minutes
Course: Refreshments
Cuisine: Japanese
Keyword: green tea, matcha, tea
Servings: 1 pint

Equipment

  • 1 chosaku ladle (substitute with ½ tsp)
  • 1 chawan bowl (substitute with a wide cup, or small bowl)
  • 1 chasen whisk (substitute with a milk frother)
  • 1 kettle with temperature controls (or a microwave and a thermometer)
  • 1 16 oz stainless steel insulated water bottle (assuming you want it to stay warm for hours)
  • 1 funnel, that fits in the water bottle (or just wing it)
  • 1 chakin tea cloth (or tea towel or paper towel; to wipe stuff)

Ingredients

  • 2 tsp ceremonial grade matcha powder (culinary grade is for cooking and lattes)
  • 3 oz ice cold water
  • 13 oz warm water

Instructions

  • Heat the warm water to 160º, in the kettle or what have you
    13 oz warm water
  • While that's warming, gather your tools: the insulated water bottle and funnel, the chosaku (ladle), chasen (whisk), and the chawan (bowl)
  • Place the funnel over the top of the bottle
  • Get the cold water
  • With the chosaku, take 4 heaping scoops of matcha powder into the chawan
    2 tsp ceremonial grade matcha powder
  • Wipe the chosaku clean
  • Pour about 1 to 2 tbsp of the cold water over the matcha powder.
    3 oz ice cold water
  • Pour the rest of the cold water into the bottle.
    This will bring the final temperature down to drinking range (~135º)
  • With the chasen, mix the powder and cold water well into a thin paste, until you can't see powder particles anymore.
    This keeps the powder from clumping, and from accidentally "burning" when adding the hot water. Sifting the powder is often recommended, but that shouldn't be needed with this method.
  • Pour about half of the 160º warm water into the chawan.
    The temperature is important: lower and the powder doesn't mix well, higher and the tea gets "burned". Either way, it doesn't taste great.
    13 oz warm water
  • With the chasen, vigorously whisk the tea, moving in a zig-zag motion across the bowl, for about a minute until tiny bubbles froth over most of the surface.
    This step is important to evenly bring the powder up from the bottom and suspend it in the solution; otherwise, it ends up collecting at the bottom of the bowl instead of in your stomach.
    If it doesn't froth, you probably didn't use enough powder, or used too much water.
  • Pour the tea into the bottle
  • Wipe up any mess from that
  • Fill the bottle with the rest of the 160º warm water
  • Rinse the chasen, chawan, and funnel
  • Enjoy the tea — should be at the perfect drinking temperature, and the insulated bottle will keep it there for a couple of hours.

Notes

  1. Make sure you get a high quality ceremonial matcha
    1. Kenko is great
    2. The Wirecutter recommends Ippodo Horai
  2. If you don’t have any equipment, you can get a set for the price of 1 or 2 tins of matcha
    1. If you get a chawan with a spout, you might not need a funnel