Cold Matcha

It’s not formal

I want to introduce how to prepare cold matcha today. I have made cold matcha in the tea class at my previous school, but never learned it at my current school. The cold matcha is not a formal way of preparing tea, and it is a creative way of serving. I don’t remember exactly how I prepared cold matcha in the previous school. So, I searched about it on the internet.

Various way of preparation

I found many different ways of making cold matcha as I expected. There is even a method of making it by using a cocktail shaker. I thought that it's very interesting but I, as a tea person, tried to stick with the way using bamboo whisk. If I try to summarize the various methods, I can classify them based on two points of view. The first aspect is whether to use hot water or not‏. The other point is if it is blended with a small amount of water on the first step like koicha making. By considering these two aspects, I think that you can categorize most of the methods into the following four types.

		No.	Procedure
Cold water only	Simple step	1	Mix matcha and cold water by whisking
	Two steps	2	Mix matcha with a little amount of cold water well.  Then add some iced water and whisk more
Using hot water	Simple step	3	Make the matcha with hot water as usual.  Add ice cubes.
	Two steps	4	Mix matcha with a little amount of hot water well.  Then add some iced water and whisk more

I tried the four ways myself

Now, I wanted to know which way can make most delicious cold matcha! My first test failed. I used usual amount of matcha and water, but I felt that they were too thick in cold. I tried a few more rounds of test with less matcha to find better mixture.
For evaluating the four methods, I'll check them in terms of taste, texture and difficulty of preparation.
Taste
I didn’t find any big difference in taste among the teas prepared with only cold water (No.1 & 2). The flavor is quite mellow and not bitter at all. Sweet umami taste really stands out. The teas with hot water (No.3 & 4) were more intense with rich flavor. It also had some bitterness so it was refreshing. In No.4, I found a bit of off-flavor.
Texture
There was not much difference in texture between the cold-water preparations (No.1 & 2) and the hot-water preparations (No.3 & 4). I didn’t find any big lumps in either tea. It is maybe because I sifted the matcha before brewing. However, I noticed some tiny lumps remained in the bowl in No.1 and 3 after drinking, and none in No. 2 and 4. It was a very minor difference, though.
Difficulty of preparation
Of course, No.1 and 2, the methods without hot water are much easier to prepare. So to name them in order, starting from the most difficult‏, it will be No.4, 3, 2 and then 1.

		No.	Taste	Texture	Difficulty of Preparation
Cold water only	Simple step	1	Mellow with good umami, Not bitter	Slightly rough	The easiest
	Two steps	2		Smooth	Easy
Using hot water	Simple step	3	Refreshing rich flavor, Some bitterness	Slightly rough	Complicated
	Two steps	4	Refreshing rich flavor, Some bitterness and off-flavor	Smooth	The most complicated

If you want mild tea, try cold-water brewing (No.1 or 2). If you prefer refreshing tea, try No.3.  No.4 had an off-flavor and it takes a lot of fuss to make it, so probably I won't use it. I personally like mellow tea, so I recommend method No.2 the most.

Conclusion for cold matcha

The facts I found through these tests are:
-Cold matcha has mellow flavor and rich sweetness without bitterness, but less aroma.
-Matcha feels thicker in cold.
My recipe
-Matcha:1g
-Iced water: first-5ml, second-65ml
1. Blend gently the matcha with 5ml of iced water and make smooth paste

2. Add 65ml of iced water and whisk well

Tips:
-Sift matcha before making it
-Cool the bowl and dry it before using
-You may add some ice cubes when you serve it.
The cold matcha can give briskness like a cool breeze into your day. Enjoy!

Buy the way, I have some new tea bowls on our shop. The white tea bowl in the photos is one of them. http://www.everyonestea.com/product-list/10