Alternative matcha recipe 1

 

An instructor at a tea workshop has taught me an alternative of preparing matcha. She said the good thing about this preparation is anybody can prepare this great bowl of matcha without fuzz! A failure-proof matcha she said. Of course, it's quite different from the way I've been learning it from my tea school. The instructor even told us that it has two advantages: first, even though you don't pre-sift your matcha, this recipe will give you less lumps in your tea. It would be smoother too. Second advantage is that it has more taste of the rich umami without the unpleasant bitterness. Yet, it also has its minor disadvantage. And that is the tea would be less aromatic.

I have already seen this method in some websites such as Youtube, but I haven't really given it too much attention till now. The instructor even insisted on trying to compare the new recipe from the traditional one at home. So I did and here how it went for me.

In the ordinary or the traditional way, we prepare the tea by mixing matcha (1.8g) and hot water (60ml/2oz) in a tea bowl with a tea whisk. Now, this new recipe involves two simple steps: First, mix the matcha (1.8g) well with 10ml/0.4oz of cold water. This process prevents lump formation. Second, add 50ml/1.7oz of hot water then whisking it more. This new recipe is for usucha (thin tea) but is almost similar to making koicha (thick tea). And voila!! This is how easy to make a smooth and sweet matcha!

	Ordinary	New
Matcha	1.8grams
Water	Hot: 60ml/2oz	Cold: 10ml/0.4oz  Hot: 50ml/1.7oz
Whisking	20sec	40sec + 10sec

The alternative matcha recipe

Add a very small amount of cold water

Refrain from mixing the matcha vigorously and try not to make it foamy.
Mixing it gently would avoid any lumps.A good 40 seconds of mixing will do fantastic.

The surface gets lustrous and looks very smooth like koicha.

 

Now, you can add hot water and whisk it for about 10 seconds with faster speed to achieve a foamy texture.

Left: Ordinary recipe, Right: New recipe

There seem to be not much difference in appearance as you can notice. But they definitely differ when it comes to aroma. The traditional tea has a richer aroma as the instructor has warned us. When it comes to taste and flavor, I got a totally different impression for the two. This is where it really gets interesting! I was shocked since it's not what I expected. I still found the ordinary tea tastier than the new one. Can you believe that?! The alternative tea was lukewarm. Even though I pre-heated both of the tea bowls, the first step with the cold water made the tea less hot than the traditional tea. I simply found the hotter tea tastier. I tried to find the rich umami sensation from the new recipe, but the umami didn’t matter anymore. The temperature has bigger impact for me to find the tea tasty. It was a bit disappointing for me, since I gave high expectations to the new recipe.

After drinking, I didn’t find any lumps in both tea bowls, though. Is it because I am a really good whisker?? Perhaps, not. It's because I used a brand new tea that I've just purchased. Even without sifting it, it still looks fluffy. That’s why there were no lumps even with the traditional recipe. So, with the brand new tea, I really couldn't see the said advantages of the new recipe. 

I guess I'd have to exert more effort into finding the advantages the instructor told me about this new recipe so I could give justice to what she has confidently told us. I did try to make this new recipe a number of times, but, of course, with my own personal touches!   So, better wait for my next blog entry and will share my story about this.