Traditional Whisked Matcha (Adapted from a Twinings Matcha Bag)

teas.co.uk · 8 min · Serves 1

You'll need

• 1 Twinings Matcha pyramid tea bag
• 70ml filtered water at 80°C (boiled then cooled in an open kettle for 90 seconds)
• 1 ceramic matcha bowl (chawan; or any small ceramic bowl about 12cm wide, 5cm deep), pre warmed
• 1 bamboo matcha whisk (chasen; available from Japanese kitchen shops, about £15)
• 1 small piece of Japanese wagashi (mochi, dorayaki half, or matcha shortbread; or 1 thin slice of plain butter biscuit as substitute)
• 1 thin wooden tea board or small saucer, for the bowl and the wagashi

Method

1. Pre warm the chawan by filling with hot tap water; let it sit for one minute then empty. The bowl must be warm or the matcha will fail to foam on contact.
2. Bring the kettle to a full rolling boil. Take the lid off and let it stand 90 seconds; this brings the water down to roughly 80 degrees. Pouring boiling water on matcha gives an aggressive bitter cup.
3. Snip the Twinings Matcha pyramid bag open with kitchen scissors along the top seal. Tip the contents (a fine green matcha powder mixed with broken green tea leaves) into the warmed chawan. The pyramid bag is large enough to easily empty; do not worry about a few stuck leaves on the bag walls.
4. Pour the 70ml of 80-degree water straight into the chawan over the matcha powder and leaves. The water should sit just below the rim.
5. Pick up the bamboo chasen by the handle. Whisk the matcha fast across the surface of the bowl in a W shape (left right left right in a tight zigzag), not in stirring circles. Continue whisking fast for thirty seconds; the surface will progress from cloudy green liquid to a foamy emerald and jade surface with a tight layer of small bubbles. This is the proper usucha foam.
6. Lift the chasen out of the bowl and rest it on the side. The leaves from the bag will sit at the bottom of the bowl; they are part of the drink and you sip the foam off the top first.
7. Place the chawan on the wooden tea board or small saucer. Place the small piece of wagashi (Japanese sweet) on the board beside the bowl.
8. Sit down. Take a bite of the wagashi first; let it dissolve on the tongue. Then lift the chawan in two hands (the traditional way) and take a sip of the matcha through the foam. Repeat: sweet, sip, pause.
9. Drink slowly; the cup should last about ten minutes. The leaves at the bottom of the bowl can be left or eaten with a small spoon at the end (the Japanese tradition is to eat them; the leaves are full of flavour).

Recipe: https://teas.co.uk/recipes/matcha/traditional whisked matcha adapted from a twinings matcha bag/