How to Brew Matcha Tea
Matcha tea is commonly associated with traditional Japanese tea ceremony. Matcha tea comes in a strong, almost emerald green color. Unlike other tea, matcha tea is drunk along with its finely-powdered tea leaves instead of getting strained out.
There are two kinds of matcha tea: Usu-cha and koi-cha. Usu-cha tea is also referred as “thin tea” due to its consistency and the quality of the matcha tea you use. Koi-cha is “thick tea” which is noticeably thicker in consistency and is made using a higher-quality and more expensive matcha powder. It’s not recommended to try and make koi-cha out of matcha powder meant for usu-cha tea. However, both undergo the same brewing processes.
Matcha tea boasts of many health benefits which include boosting your immune system, lowering cholesterol levels, aiding digestion and even enhancing your dental health. Interested? Here’s how you can brew matcha tea.
Tools
Powdered green tea or matcha
Matcha tea bowl
Chasen or tea whisk
Tea kettle
Procedure
Boil water in your tea kettle and preheat the matcha tea bowl using the hot water. Swirl around and use the water to moisten the chasen. Discard the water after.
Put half a level teaspoon of matcha tea powder in your matcha tea bowl.
Slowly start putting in steaming hot water in your tea bowl, stirring slowly with your chasen as you do so. Continue doing this until you’ve reached the half of your tea bowl, which is around six oz. worth of hot water.
Keep mixing by holding the bowl firmly with one hand and slowly mixing the matcha tea with the chasen in the other hand. Keep mixing slowly to get rid of lumps and clumps.
You need to continue mixing until you achieve a smooth, creamy texture with foam on top, much like latte. (read how to make a latte)
Once you’ve achieved the desired texture, hold the chasen in the middle of the foam, not moving. Allow the liquid to drop off or draw off from the chasen, and gently remove by moving your hand straight up.
If you enjoy learning from this article, might as well read how to make green tea.