Matcha for Dummies

OK all you green tea experts, is it possible to prepare a decent cup/bowl of matcha without buying any special gear like the bamboo whisk thing? I've never tried it, but don't want to buy all the gear just to find out that I don't like it. Could one fix up a decent serving using a cereal bowl and an egg beater or an old Badger brush?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Thanks.

Considering the type of hand motion involved in making matcha, I doubt an egg beater will work! I think that out of all the accessories involved in matcha preparation, the bamboo whisk is probably the most difficult to forego.

Your best bet to try out matcha would be to go to a place where they prepare it for you - perhaps somewhere like a tearoom or somewhere that does tea ceremony demonstrations.

EmptyB said:

OK all you green tea experts, is it possible to prepare a decent cup/bowl of matcha without buying any special gear like the bamboo whisk thing? I've never tried it, but don't want to buy all the gear just to find out that I don't like it. Could one fix up a decent serving using a cereal bowl and an egg beater or an old Badger brush?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Thanks.

Click to expand...

No.

joel said:

No.

Click to expand...

Proving once again that brevity is the soul of wit.......

Here is Joel's longer version:
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=63042&highlight=matcha

joel said:

No.

Click to expand...

OK, Badger-Matcha checked off the to-do list. Thanks.

Sure you can. I have a number of inventive Japanese friends who whip it up with a small whisk from a kitchen goods store or even one of those battery powered latte foamer thingies. I suspect Sen no Rikyu would approve too.

You need a bowl, a whisk, some water and some matcha. No need for the bowl to be a chasen or the whisk to be bamboo but it is nice.

Like The Nod Hog I've heard of people using those little battery powered latte whisks, never tried myself though.

i made a very in-efective matcha wisk out of bamboo skewers it dident work well but it got the job done.

Is it OK for the OP to bring a dead thread back to life?

More than a year after this original post, I finally tried my first bowl of matcha last night. I got the Kiri-No-Mori matcha from O-Cha, and bought a cheap bamboo whisk and scoop from Amazon. I didn't buy a matcha bowl - I am instead using the same cereal bowl that used to be my shaving bowl before I switched to face lathering.

I think it was successful. It tastes way better than what I was expecting. I was expecting something really strong, bitter, and astringent. In contrast, the matcha was creamy, just slightly sweet, and not overpowering at all.

I was unable to make the type of froth that I see in pictures on the internet, so I will need some practice with the whisking. I also think I need to experiment with the amount of matcha and water used.

So, are you supposed to drink matcha like a shot of espresso, i.e., down it in one/two sips?

I think there are three sips at least, the third being aspirated, in the "tea ceremonies". The ration of water/tea does impact the success with the foam, as does technique and freshness.

It's generally made in one of two ways. Koicha or usucha, thick or thin. I think koicha is the more traditional tea ceremony version where the chasen would be passed around and everyone would have a sip, higher grade matcha's tend to cope better when prepared thick. Usucha is better for day to day drinking and easier to gets nice cuppa from.

If you're not doing so already try whisking in a figure 8 pattern as opposed to going round in circles.

i don't measure stuff but I'd say for koicha I use around half the amount of water and twice the amount of tea. Koicha is not something I've got into the habit of, mainly due to the cost.