Wondering How to Make Matcha Tea? Here’s a perfect guide
Do you identify yourself as a tea lover? A tea lover is a person who loves to try and test as many teas from around the world. More importantly, a tea lover enjoys the fantastic flavors, aromas, and textures of tea rather than any modern tea innovations. As a tea lover, Matcha is a tea type you should not forget or miss on your tea journey. Matcha tea is an extraordinary variety of tea among the thousands of tea types we enjoy around us. It is native to Japan and has become world-famous as a fine & healthy beverage. Like any tea type, Matcha has unique characteristics in terms of flavor, texture, and health benefits. Therefore, knowing how to make Matcha tea perfectly is essential if you are a beginner on this tea journey.
What is Matcha?
Matcha, aka Japanese green tea, is a finely ground powder of specially grown and processed tea leaves. Manufacturing this delicacy is a lengthy process that needs careful attention. The process drives the development of natural chemicals like theanine and caffeine in tea. Matcha preparation and consumption follow a distinct style as they involve a dissolving or suspension method in water or milk.
Matcha tea is the major component in traditional Japanese tea ceremonies, a choreographic ritual of preparing and serving Matcha. Here, the tea is served along with traditional Japanese sweets, balancing the bitter taste of tea. It is an artistic process that is not only about tea drinking but also a live performance of how to make Matcha tea, serve it, and drink it. The tea gives a greenish tea brew with tastes of mellow vegetal, grassy notes, natural sweet nuttiness, and a touch of bitterness with a pleasant savory ending. The tea has widespread use in flavoring and dyeing foods, apart from directly drinking it.
How to Make Matcha Tea? First, Learn the Grades
For commercial purposes, producers categorize Matcha under three main segments, or "grades," depending on the different qualities and flavors. The Matcha grades available in the market have three different types: ceremonial grade, latte grade, and cooking grade Matcha.
Ceremonial Grade Matcha
Ceremonial-grade green tea Matcha is the highest grade and is fit for tea ceremonies and Buddhist temples. It has a brighter green color along with a smooth flavor. When preparing the tea, a high proportion of powder is mixed with water to get a thick tea.
Latte Grade Matcha
Latte grade is an average Matcha type with a slightly less bright green color and a fresh, subtle flavor with bitterness. It is ideal for both new and daily tea drinkers. When you mix Matcha with milk instead of water, you can create a sensational Matcha latte.
Cooking Grade Matcha
Cooking grade is greenish brown and relatively bitter. It is the lowest grade and has common uses for cooking purposes and the preparation of smoothies.
How to Make Matcha Tea? Learn the Tools
When thinking of how to make Matcha tea, you need several utensils to make a perfect cup. You will need a lot of equipment if you are following the Japanese tea ceremony style. However, here we have discussed how to make Matcha at your home. When making this tea at home, you will need two basic types of equipment. A spouted Matcha bowl and a whisk.
Spouted Matcha Bowl
It would help if you had a spacious bowl to prepare Matcha, as the method usually follows several cycles of whisking. Also, there should be a spout to pour it out. Therefore, a unique bowl called "chawan" is there for Matcha making, which is made of ceramic with enough space to whisk tea well.
Matcha Whisk
Matcha whisk carries the specific name called "chasen". After adding Matcha into the spouted bowl with some water, the mixture needs a good whisk to create uniform & frothy foam. No lumps should remain in the liquid, and no ground tea should stay on the sides of the bowl. With a good matcha whisk, you can achieve this consistency. Some people sift their Matcha before making tea to ensure that there are no lumps. But this step is not essential when you master the art of whisking the tea.
How to Make Matcha Tea?
After selecting the suitable Matcha grade and gathering equipment, you are now ready to know how to make Matcha tea. Making Matcha at a traditional Japanese ceremony is a bit complex, and you don't need to work that hard to make this tea at home. There are very few steps to follow to make this magical brew.
How to Make Matcha Tea?: First, Make a Paste
First, you must make a thick paste with Matcha powder and water. Add ¾ teaspoon Matcha (2- 4 grams) to a spouted bowl or a glass liquid measuring cup. Add 2 ounces (60- 80 ml) of cool water and whisk to form it into a thick paste.
Whisk Until Frothy
Then add the remaining cool water and whisk vigorously back and forth until a foamy layer appears. This needs to be done for around 20- 30 seconds. Whisking in a circular motion may delay the process, and it is best to whisk back and forth or up and down.
Add Hot Water
Then heat 6 ounces of water (180- 240 ml) to 175- 180 F0 degrees and mix it with one teaspoon of honey in a mug. Sweetening is as per your choice, and it is not compulsory to add honey as the sweetener. You can try other sweeteners as well.
Combine
Finally, pour the frothy Matcha into the mug, stir gently and adjust the sweetness to taste a perfect cup of Matcha. Then sit back, relax and enjoy your tea!
Helpful Tips
There are some essential tips you should know when making this tea & most people omit or miss following these. When learning how to make Matcha tea, it is crucial to understand these helpful tips and strategies to enjoy a tasteful cup of tea.
It Doesn't Last Forever
Matcha tea is a finely ground-dried green tea. It contains significantly less moisture content. So if you expose this to normal air, it starts absorbing moisture available in the air. Due to this nature, Matcha doesn't have a long shelf life after opening it. Generally, the tea loses its finer quality nearly two months after opening. Therefore, remember to buy the tea in small quantities or packed in small sachets and store it in the refrigerator to preserve freshness. This simple precaution would deliver the best color and flavor of this unique tea.
When Learning How to Make Matcha Tea, You Need Proper Tools
To make a perfect cup of Matcha, the whisking step of tea is essential. After the preparation, no lumps should be retained in the tea & it would deliver an unpleasant taste. So, a proper bamboo whisk is necessary for whisking your Matcha bowl. Its unique design breaks the lumps and creates a beautiful frothy layer of foam on top of the tea. If a bamboo whisk is not available, a regular whisk or an electric milk frother will do the same duty with extra effort. Whisking with a fork or spoon will not deliver the same output.
Sweeten to Taste
Matcha tea has flavor notes of mellow vegetal, grassy notes, natural sweet nuttiness, and a touch of bitterness with a pleasant savory ending. Further, its grassy umami taste can be an acquired taste. If you are new to making matcha and still learning how to make Matcha tea, add a few drops of maple syrup or honey. If the matcha powder is bitter, you will also need to add some sweeteners.
Final Thoughts on How to Make Matcha Tea!
Matcha tea is finely ground green tea powder prepared under a unique manufacturing process. The teacup has a greenish color, a taste of mellow vegetal, grassy notes, and a touch of bitterness. Tea is a necessity in Japanese tea ceremonies, which is a choreographic ritual of preparing and serving Matcha. Matcha tea is used not only as a tea beverage but also for cooking purposes. So it has a higher traditional value than regular tea. There are three primary Matcha tea grades, as ceremonial grade, latte grade, and cooking grade Matcha. The equipment used for making this tea at Japanese tea ceremonies is a bit complex, but at home, you need a spouted bowl and a bamboo whisk.
Answering the question "how to make Matcha tea" has four simple steps: making a paste, whisking, adding hot water, and combining. The tea also contains the natural chemical compounds that other teas possess. So it is a beverage with magical health benefits that belong to tea. Finally, as a tea lover, Matcha tea is one of the best teas you should try out in your tea journey.