Discontinued. Similar tea available.
“Matcha lemonade! Added a bit less than a tsp to a medium Chick-Fil-A lemonade. Wow! The lemonade by itself was a bit too tart, ad not as sweet as they often make it. The matcha actually sweetened...” Read full tasting note
“Today called for a Matcha Smoothie. Ingredients: Matcha from Teavana, milk (skim or 1%), Splenda/Sugar to taste, Dole Frozen Unsweetened Mixed Berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries,...” Read full tasting note
“I’ll confess: I’ve been drinking this as a latte. Someone else (Ricky? Cofftea, perhaps?) was posting about matcha lattes, and since drinking a cup of just plain matcha doesn’t often appeal to me...” Read full tasting note
“The past few days have been a matcha bender. Purchasing a traditional bamboo matcha whisk changed my matcha experience from a mixed one to an absolutely positive one. Prior to the bamboo whisk, I’d...” Read full tasting note
Traditionally used in the Japanese tea ceremony, this top quality green tea powder is hand-made from the youngest Gyokuro leaves. Matcha is said to be even healthier than other green teas since it is the only tea in which the whole leaf is used. In addition, only the finest, youngest leaves are hand-picked for Matcha. If you enjoy green tea, you should try this unique, powdered tea at least once. 1.1 oz of tea (30 grams).
How to Prepare
Use 1/2 teaspoon of tea per 8 ounces of water. Heat water to 165-175 degrees, which is hot, but not boiling. Pour over tea and wisk powdered tea and water into froth. Use more tea for a stronger taste, if you prefer.
Ingredients:
Gyokuro whole green tea leaves finely ground into a powder.
Matcha lemonade! Added a bit less than a tsp to a medium Chick-Fil-A lemonade. Wow! The lemonade by itself was a bit too tart, ad not as sweet as they often make it. The matcha actually sweetened it up and evened it out into something quite nice. Best ice cold.
Today called for a Matcha Smoothie.
Ingredients: Matcha from Teavana, milk (skim or 1%), Splenda/Sugar to taste, Dole Frozen Unsweetened Mixed Berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries), Blender.
Recipe: I put in a 1/4 cup of the frozen mixed berries, 1/4 tsp Splenda, 4 ounces skim milk (cold), 4 ounces cold water, 1/4 tsp Matcha powder in the Magic Bullet blender cup, mixed for about a minute.
Makes a thick, frothy smoothie, tasted like ripe mixed berries and matcha. Fantastic.
Ah, you should have posted this yesterday! I tried to make a blackberry matcha milk smoothie, and it came out horrible. Will try this out today, although I’m out of blackberries now :(
Aww, I’m sorry, but for today, here are a few cheats here for you: use frozen berries because then you don’t need ice and it turns out creamy and cold, don’t use all milk, it makes it too thick, also you usually need to add sweetener because most frozen berries lose their sugar and require added sugar/sweetener to taste right. Sorry about your lack of berries, but if you don’t mind the mix definitely look for the Dole Frozen Mix (its by desserts in the frozen section) and makes the smoothie process a lot easier.
Yeah, I think that was one of my mistakes – I used fresh berries and milk, the only things I had on hand. I tried adding some fresh strawberries too, but it didn’t help. Boo. So now I wasted some yummy fresh berries, too. :(
Ummm, did you strain the berries o.O I never have luck with frozen blackberries or raspberries. The seeds make it difficult for me to drink. I just stick with strawberries and bananas. Next time I’ll try adding some matcha.
Ricky, I had an awful blackberry seed experience yesterday. Maybe frozen berries have fewer seeds?
Oh wait, nevermind. You said you used frozen and there were seeds. I tried fresh yesterday, and there were seeds too :(
Well, I always freeze all my ingredients. I’m lazy and I don’t really use them for a long time. I think I still have frozen strawberries tucked deep within my freezer.
i had a few blackberry seeds, none of the other posed any problems though. the mix i bought had such distinct pieces that if the seeds really did bother me, i would just not use the blackberries next time since they are so easy to pull out. however, i am sure there were seeds and i did not notice any more than one or two.
It might be because I’m using fresh berries and throwing them into the freezer and yours is premixed?
Yea, the berries are premixed, if not for extreme convenience it also saves money. The blended bag is 12 ounces and $4.00 where fresh berries vary depending on season and can cost the same as that.
When it gets warmer, I think I might just do that instead of buying fresh berries. I didn’t think about that.
Yea, especially because I, too, am lazy and this way if it takes me a week or two (or longer) to use all the berries, at least they are frozen and won’t go bad
I’ll confess: I’ve been drinking this as a latte.
Someone else (Ricky? Cofftea, perhaps?) was posting about matcha lattes, and since drinking a cup of just plain matcha doesn’t often appeal to me (sometimes it does, but only very selectively and only every now and then, as with almost all green tea) I thought I would give it a try. I haven’t the first idea what the temp or steep time are. My method is to mix water and milk (I use 2% for almost everything) at a 1:1 ratio in a pot on the stove, heat it until it’s hot but not so hot that it seems likely to bitter the powder, then I sift the matcha through the bottom of one of my mesh basket infusers to reduce it to fine powder and clear lumps, whisk it, and pour it into a cup into which I’ve already added a tiny bit of raw honey. The results are delicious. It’s a non-standard way to drink matcha, obviously (though my Japanese friend tells me that taking matcha with milk is pretty common in Japan, so I don’t feel like an utter heretic), so I’m going to avoid trying to review this matcha as compares to other matchas (especially as I’m hardly a connoisseur)…but I do like it. It seems tolerant of the method of preparation; I have yet to make a bitter cup. The caffeine content is fair, the color of the powder is rich and bright enough to promise that whatever their processing methods or sources are, they’re (more or less) legitimate, the aftertaste is sweet and grassy. No complaints.
That’d be Ricky- I’m the Matcha Drinking Chocolate girl:)
I’m loving all the Matcha love. lol.
I love the idea of using a mesh basket infuser to sift the matcha. That would make things so much easier!
Huh. I might need to try that some morning.
It is handy! I just use the teaspoon to do it. Works like a charm. :D
this sounds like a great way to prepare it! I’ll have to try it. I drink teavana matcha with milk & a pinch of sugar too, but your ratios and prep method sound ideal. thanks for sharing! I’m really starting to understand and appreciate the versatility of matcha.
Hahah, yeah, I always drink matcha as a latte. Guilty! Cofftea is the one who prepares it traditionally =P
Is there a difference with the stove versus microwave to warm up the milk? You know… one day I’ll just make two cups of latte and see what the difference is. I always crave a second cup of matcha latte after the first anyways.
@Ricky: Knew it was one of you. ^^ I’ve never tried microwaving it, so I have no idea! Presumably not. I tend to prefer normal heat sources instead of microwave generally (when I’m not feeling lazy)…it may be that there’s not really any difference. If you find that there is one, you’ll have to let me know.
@JF/tak: Hope you like it. It’s pretty good with turbinado sugar, too, in a pinch. And matcha is awesome for cooking purposes. One of these days I’m going to make a huge batch of ice cream. :D
Ricky, the difference between microwave vs stove is the microwave is MUCH easier to scorch the milk. It seems to go from cold to a sticky film all over your cup and microwave instantly.
What I need is a nonstick pan to heat the milk. It’s either I hate cleaning the pot afterwards or it leaves a sticky film on the bottom. I think it might be because I mix the whole mixture into the pot and heat it. I don’t remember.
I mix it all into the pot and heat it, too. The trick is just to put water into the pot immediately afterward. You do have to probably sponge the bottom, but it’s not that bad…and really, the heat should only ever go up to moderate heat, so it doesn’t scorch the matcha; that helps keep the bottom of the pot from gumming up too badly…a quick pass with a sponge is really enough. :D
The past few days have been a matcha bender. Purchasing a traditional bamboo matcha whisk changed my matcha experience from a mixed one to an absolutely positive one. Prior to the bamboo whisk, I’d been using a standard metal kitchen whisk, and not a very flexible one at that. For tea veterans, I’m sure you can appreciate why that was a poor choice on my part.
Matcha poorly made can be particularly bitter and heavy. That’s how I’d make it before, and I’d reserve it for a time of focusing before something of significance, like meeting someone new or prayer.
Drinking it now, my mind hangs on to my old ceremony of having some sort of reverence for the task at hand during and after drinking the markedly better made bowl of matcha. Drinking matcha and thinking about the direction of my life while I listen to the Moth podcast or find some music I think is appropriate for this kind of mind, like Radiohead’s Idioteque or a live version of Tool’s Pushit.
The tea itself is different from any other tea you’re likely to taste, being the whole tea leaf dried and ground and immersed with hot water. If you’re going to take the time to try this, I’d encourage you to get the whisk, get a decent bowl, and get the water temperature right the first time. This will greatly increase your experience.
Mixing this stuff with vanilla ice cream and splash of vanilla soy milk is also fantastic.
I also recently purchased a bamboo whisk and I agree, it has made a huge difference.
I like to make shakes with some soy milk and banana, and occasionally some honey, though the vanilla might make a nice addition. I’ll have to remember next time.
If I had a blender, I would definitely try bananas.
Ah, yes. The blender does help.
I prefer 1/2 teaspoon per 6oz.
I think that’s what is suggested on the matcha tin. Having a culinary arts degree, I am disabled from following directions involving food of any sort. I put an amount I call “some” into the bowl and an amount of water I call “most of the bowl” into it and stir until it looks right. So far, so good.
I’ve had awful experiences with Matcha – I should just saw disappointing. I’ll try these tips and see if I can change that around.
I imagine the flavor isn’t for everyone.
I stopped into Teavana looking for a gift for a friend, she saw some cup there she really loved, but I couldn’t pick it out from the ones there today. Anyway, while I was shopping, I had them make me a matcha since I had to go straight to work. I was curious about their matcha. They did not tell me which matcha they used to make my tea, and I didn’t ask because they seemed like there was only one.
It tasted funny at first, had a real bitter taste to it, and it wasn’t a “normal” bitter taste. (Not that matcha has a bitter taste, I mean an abnormal bitterness, abnormal even for bitter.) Weird. But after that, it tasted fine, not great. That could be because I am rushing around and not wanting to go to work, and I don’t have time to sit down and really relax and enjoy this. Well, so it’s really thick, gets really clumpy toward the last third of the cup. I am able to add hot water to this at work and still get a thin-ish matcha. Not once more, but twice more. Then, while there is still some matcha left, I add a tea bag of Tazo’s Lotus and add more water. And let me tell you, Lotus matcha is FANTASTIC. Calming, tasty, sweet, aromatic, just plain good! My first “on the fly” tea blend and I am calling it a success!
The score is more for the Tazo Lotus then the matcha, but I think because there is more matcha than Lotus, I need to give it to Teavana.
Wow they actually made it for you? Score!=D And thanks for the flavoring suggestion- DOUBLE SCORE!
What do you mean? It’s on their menu. $4 for “specialty teas” including blooming and matcha.
I’ve never been to a Teavana so I thought it was just a place to buy tea that maybe had a couple premade for you to try- if that was the case I was quite impressed one of them was matcha. $4 for matcha though?! There’s a place an hr north of me that has it for $2.50/bowl
Oh okay! Teavana has tea and accessories to purchase and they have many samples for you to try in the store. Usually two at the door, two or three amongst the teapot/teaset displays and two at the counter. And they are kinda expensive, which might account for the high price of the matcha. Also, since I live in California, then it’s probably just more expensive anyway. The tea shop I love in town that is closing, they charged $4 for a bowl of matcha also, but they made their high grade Samurai matcha. Like I said, I have no idea which matcha they gave me. I will say, the cup size is decent, like maybe 12/16 ounces (?), so I don’t think it’s a bad price really, for what I’m used to paying for.
And do you really want to drive an hour away to save $1.50? :-)
That is if there were a Teavana close to you.
Holy freakin crap… a 12 or 16 ounce bowl of matcha? I’m assuming they put in more than the 2 scoops I would so that’s a lot of matcha. My nearest Teavana is an hr and a half away (in a very large city). I’m not sure I ever want to go to Teavana based on what people have said about the sales people. The place where I’ve gotten matcha (which I’ve only gotten to once) is much better cuz they have killer food. I can purchase tea anywhere but it’s nice to be able to get a bowla w/ my meal.
I think Teavana put in more than 2 scoops because of the consistency.
I did feel like I was cohorting (I don’t know if that is the right word) with the Devil, I hate Teavana, not only because of the sales people, but also because they don’t have basic things I think a tea shop should have. I don’t want all of my teas to be flavored, much less fruit flavored. But my friend I was shopping for is like my sister, so I went for her.
I think around here, anywhere you go for tea (besides fast food) tea is about $3 dollars. Yes, almost as much as coffee. Every once in a while I can find tea for about $2, but that’s rare and the tea is usually Lipton or something. I noticed when I was in NYC a few years back, that I couldn’t find brewed tea anywhere, only bottled. I thought that was odd, as there is a lot of brewed tea in small cafes and fast food here, but once again, Lipton usually or something comparable.
What basics are they missing? Matcha for purchase might wash over a lot of tea sins for me lol!=D
Just things I think are basic for a “specialty tea” shop, like a lapsong. The salesperson there said they had gotten rid of their lapsong and was coming back with a flavored lapsong. I asked for some other things too, a pu-erh, and they didn’t have that either.
I didn’t look to see if they had those online, but I just thought that they should be in the store, you know?
Also the salespeople are horrible, even the one that made my matcha for me, and their prices are lame. I can go to the Japanese or Asian supermarket in town and get jasmine pearls for a fraction of the price they were charging. I think both of those markets carry those and then I can also trust the quality too.
A flavored lapsang souchong? Odd… I can’t wait to read a tasting note on it. No pu erh? I see tasting notes on flavored pu erh blends all the time. Or are you just looking for a straight, unflavored pu erh?
Straight unflavored! That’s when I found the one at World Market, and I recently got one at Hina’s. I think I am stocked up on pu-erh for a while now! And the lapsong, I will have to order out, probably from Lupicia, since I’ve been to their store.
I’m considering a Lupica order… $15 for 100g of matcha makes my wallet happy but also makes me concerned about quality. I’m also interested in their flavored matcha au laits… but I don’t like milk w/ my matcha so I’m concerned that there may be powdered milk in them like in a chai mix.
I haven’t gotten matcha from Lupicia yet. There is only one store near me, and it’s in SF. They are from Japan and there are only three stores in California. I have been very happy with their quality, their salespeople, and their prices!
Yeah… but that price for matcha is just too good to be true… I think…
You never know until you try it. Or I can buy it and try it for you! :-D
bought my first matcha at teavana,first visit there, spent $140. all non-aromatized teas. happy, matcha is very invigorating. smooth. greentea x 10
Back from school. Done with finals. At home.
I recently got a beautiful white bowl from an artist friend at school that has a lovely speckled eggshell glaze. I knew it would be perfect for matcha! (The bowl I had been using for matcha before was bright orange. It made the matcha look scary and horrible. Don’t do it.) I was super excited to try it out.
Used about 1 tsp, ~160 F water, and my chasen whisk. It was a little tricky to whisk it without splashing tea over the side of the bowl…maybe I filled it too high. I had a little trouble getting the foamy consistency, but this is only my second or so time. It’ll come with practice.
Anyway, onto the tea. This is my first time drinking matcha without any soymilk, agave, etc. I took a sip…delicious! I really like this. I’m glad, because it’s one of those things I’ve been trying to get myself to like. Very vegetal, slightly sweet, thick, comforting, warm. When I got to the bottom there was some sediment…I guess that’s unavoidable, especially if you take your time drinking it. I just added a little more water and whisked it again.
Yum!
Not bad as a matcha being used to make a latté which is what I did. I lightly earthy and vegetal matcha. I made my latté with water, half & half, and 2% Milk. I will post pictures and directions to my latté if you are curious to know about how I prepared it or perhaps to recreate it yourself on my blog located here. http://iheartteas.teatra.de/2011/07/how-i-made-my-matcha-latte/
Confessions of a matcha newb: I purchased a tin of this with the intention of making green tea ice cream, which I never got around to doing. So there it sat in my cupboard for, um, several years. Now, armed with my new Steepster knowledge, I’m making a matcha latte every morning and feeling quite proud of myself! Nothing fancy — just sifting half a teaspoon of matcha into my 16 oz. mug, blending it with a bit of 1% milk and Torani sugar-free syrup, and then adding another cup of heated milk frothed with a Bonjour Caffe Froth Turbo. Having as yet nothing to compare this matcha to, possibly all I can say of any value would be that, even sitting unopened in a cupboard for several years, the color was still bright and the smell fresh and strong. (Now that I’ve opened it, I’m keeping it in the freezer.) I’ll definitely use this up.
I needed the extra caffeine, so I made a matcha latte with a dash of cinnamon and a little honey. Yum!
I’ve never had their matcha… the closest one is 2hrs from me so I’d have to go when I go to the airport or something.
It’s a trek for us as well, so I usually just order online. I don’t have to deal with the salespeople that way either.
Haha, yeah that’s actually one reason I wanna go. I wanna give them a tough sale.:)
One flavoring method I haven’t thought of! I haven’t had my matcha today so I just may try that later- stay tuned!
another great matcha idea!
I bet your idea would be great using this http://steepster.com/teas/muzi/10545-granite-ground-white-tea especially since white tea lowers body temp.
Ha, can I just say…I love that the white tea company just cites “www.pubmed.com” as the source for their claims about antioxidentz. Lmao!
that powdered white tea does look interesting, Cofftea. Thanks for sharing!
I forgot to log my other matcha concoction yesterday – I was going to make another strawberry-matcha-almond milk smoothie, but my strawberry yogurt had gone bad, so my only option was key lime. It was pretty good, but not one I’d go out of my way to repeat.
I think that’s gonna be my “summer matcha”.. hopefully that’ll be better cold.
Pretty interesting mix! I’ll have to try that!
I’m intrigued by this. I have a Chick-Fil-A less than 5 minutes from my apartment. I might have to get a grilled chicken sandwich and a diet lemonade and make Strawberry Matcha Lemonade!
Chrine, Let me know how it turns out.