Matcha tea is a premium quality green tea produced in Japan. Matcha is typically a Japanese style tea, having been brewed in traditional Japanese tea ceremonies since ages. Rich in chlorophyll and amino acids, matcha tea has a vegetal astringent taste followed by a sweet aftertaste. It brews a full bodied rich green tea, with taste comparable to that of a dark chocolate or red wine. It is produced mostly in Japan and is hence an expensive variety of tea.
Brewing matcha the right way forms the centerpiece of Japanese style of making tea. To brew a traditional style cup of matcha tea, you would need a good quality matcha tea powder, a matcha bowl, a matcha bamboo whisk, a bamboo matcha scoop, a linen tea cloth, a matcha sifter, and a bowl for boiling water.
Begin by placing the bamboo whisk in the matcha bowl and preheating the set by boiling water in the bowl. After the bowl and whisk are heated, empty out the hot water and wipe dry the bowl using linen tea cloth. Put aside the wet whisk. Now there are two ways you can choose to brew your matcha: Usucha and Koicha. Usucha is the thinner variety whereas Koicha is thicker. Accordingly, allow about 70 ml of hot water for ususcha and 40 ml of water for koicha to cool aside in a separate bowl. Now scoop out about 1-2 scoops of matcha tea powder using a bamboo scoop and put it into the matcha bowl. You may sift through the tea powder to break any tea clumps that may have formed. You may also strain the tea powder to make it as fine as possible. Now check for the temperature of water set aside to cool. Once water temperature drops to about 70 degree Celsius, pour it into the matcha bowl. Make sure you hold the whisk in one hand and bowl in other. Keep whisking the water briskly using your wrist. Rapid whisking is the key to brew a good matcha. To make Usucha, continue to whisk till there develops a thick froth and many tiny bubbles can be seen on the surface. To make Koicha, whisk the tea in a circular motion to obtain smooth liquor with no froth. Your matcha tea is now ready to be drunk.
Matcha tea is not restricted to the traditional hand whisked matcha. It is a versatile food which comes in handy in numerous culinary applications. For example: matcha latte, cookies, pastries, entrees and yogurt. Matcha latte is made using matcha tea, milk and sweetener. Though matcha itself isn’t very sweet, it blends well with a variety of different sweeteners. It is also used as an ingredient in cereal and energy bars due to its wide ranging health benefits.
There is actually no limit to experimentation with matcha. It can be used in umpteen dishes and desserts. You may sprinkle matcha tea powder onto your favorite pudding, yogurt and granola. It is also used to make mouth watering confections like green tea pastries, chocolates, candy, and mousse. It may be used to flavor pastas or season curries.
Matcha tea is renowned as much for its health properties as for its alluring taste. Matcha tea is touted to be ten times as nutritious as green tea. The reason being that in matcha, the whole leaf is ingested in contrast to green tea in which only the brewed liquor is consumed. This sugar free tea is an ideal beverage for diabetics. Matcha keeps you active and alert mentally, enabling you to better concentrate on your work. It helps burn extra fat, stabilize blood pressure, control high cholesterol level and promote general good health.
With all the information about how to brew matcha and why it is good for you, guess you are fully equipped and ready to try brewing a cup yourself!
