Matcha - Green Tea

Matcha is a variety of fine, powdered green tea used particularly in the Japanese tea ceremony, as well as to flavour and dye foods such as mochi and soba noodles, green tea ice cream and a variety of wagashi (Japanese confectionery). Matcha is made from shade-grown tea leaves also used to make gyokuro, unlike other forms of powdered tea, such as powdered sencha.

How to make a bowl of Matcha?

1. Rinse the cup with hot water, let the matcha come to room temperature and sift through a fine strainer
2. Using a bamboo tea scoop, place 1 1/2 to 2 teascoops of matcha into the tea bowl; or, measure out a rounded 1/2 teaspoonful. Adjust the amount of matcha to your taste.
3. Add about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of hot simmering purified water. This is a guideline for a typical bowl of tea; amounts can be adjusted to your preference.
4. Briskly whisk the tea and hot water using a bamboo tea whisk. Begin slowly to dissolve the matcha, then move very briskly back and forth as fast as you can in the middle of the tea bowl. The whisk should be vertical and barely touching the bottom of the bowl. When a soft light foam has developed, slowly lift the whisk from the center of the bowl.
5. Drink the matcha immediately.