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“Wewt! Got my tin (I was one of the 10 winners) today, and, of course, immediately had to try it despite saying I was going to avoid caffeine for the next few days. What I actually meant when I...” Read full tasting note
“Matcha nog! following DoMatcha’s guidelines: “For a more contemporary Matcha-Nog recipe, heat up 6 oz. of readymade Organic Eggnog available at your local natural food retailer, add a dash of...” Read full tasting note
“My matcha came today! This is my 1st ceremonial grade matcha so, of course, I had to make koicha!:) 1tsp/40ml hot water. Hmmm… I’ve never had the matcha stay in one glob like wet sand when I add...” Read full tasting note
“I got froth! I understand what I was supposed to do now, went out and watched a video. I wasn’t whisking fast enough. Also understand why I thought the color would be lighter. With the froth,...” Read full tasting note
DōMatcha™ Ceremonial grade matcha is brought to you directly from the Uji region in Japan. Only the finest leaves are selected to guarantee the highest nutritional value as well as a sweet and pleasant flavor. Can be used to make thick or thin Matcha. (Makes about 25 servings.)
At DōMatcha, we're passionate about bringing health and energy to your day through traditional Japanese matcha. We partner with the talented 16th generation tea master Kazunori Handa to offer premium, authentic matchas from Uji, Japan.
Wewt! Got my tin (I was one of the 10 winners) today, and, of course, immediately had to try it despite saying I was going to avoid caffeine for the next few days. What I actually meant when I said that was “I am going to avoid caffeine unless something interesting and caffeinated shows up.” And it did! Hilariously, it came with a bamboo whisk and I had just gotten back home from buying one in anticipation of its arrival. Whoops!
For my first try, I just made it straight. Half a teaspoon, add water and make into a paste, add a bit more water and whiskity whisk whisk. Wow! This is REALLY good stuff. It’s so smooth and creamy – I don’t think I’ve had a matcha quite like it! It’s got just the right amount of vegetal undertone and it balances quite well with the creaminess. Yum! I could really get used to this.
I’m so glad I got the opportunity to try this – can’t wait to try the different variations on the DoMatcha site!
Matcha nog!
following DoMatcha’s guidelines: “For a more contemporary Matcha-Nog recipe, heat up 6 oz. of readymade Organic Eggnog available at your local natural food retailer, add a dash of nutmeg, and top it off with 1 tsp. of matcha pre-whisked into a froth. A splash of rum is optional!”
I used 1/2 tsp matcha, a combination of milk, almond milk, and eggnog (because I wanted fewer calories/less dairy), and no rum as it was the middle of the day ;-) Not bad!
Also, I wasn’t sure what liquid I was supposed to pre-whisk the matcha into (more milk, I guess?). I just sifted it over the heated nog/milk/nutmeg blend, then mixed with the areolatte. Easy!
Hmm… that sounds kind of interesting!
It was… interesting. Warm eggnog is weird enough, and then adding in the matcha is also weird. Once I thought of it as a hot matcha latte with a shot of eggnog flavoring it seemed less weird. A fun experiment, but I doubt I’ll have it again.
Hot Toddy I think my Grandmother’s era would have called it, or maybe a hot buttered rum sort of drink would be interesting if you use rum.
@Bonnie I don’t think I’ve ever had a true hot buttered rum. Maybe I’ll try it this season. I have seen a couple “hot buttered chai” recipes going around lately…
My matcha came today! This is my 1st ceremonial grade matcha so, of course, I had to make koicha!:)
1tsp/40ml hot water.
Hmmm… I’ve never had the matcha stay in one glob like wet sand when I add the water before… I’ve never had to… but maybe I should have sifted it?
It takes a lot of whisking, but I think I finally have a coheasive mixture. It’s thick and GREEN! As soon as I take a sip I realize it’s not really mixed after all… the chunkyness is not cool- it almost makes me want to gag. Due to this matcha fail, I’m gonna hold of rating.
Oh no I should be getting mine soon too. I am worried now. Maybe it was just bad luck.
Oh my! I’ve decided to finish up my teavana matcha before I open this one. I’ll be keeping an eye on your exploits — I hope it is better once sifted!
You should always sift Matcha (unless it’s a flavored matcha, because you may just end up sifting some of the flavoring bits out). Just like in baking, when you sift the flour and other dry ingredients, it helps to aerate the ingredients and the resulting product ends up tasting just a little better.
The same is true with Matcha – regardless of the company/quality of the matcha (except for, as I say, flavored matcha and matcha latte mixes)… you will have a better tasting matcha if you sift it. You should also always “pre-whisk” it, using just a little water and making a sort of thick paste out of the matcha before you add the rest of the water and whisk again. This will help ensure that your matcha is well blended.
LiberTEAS, I’ve never had a problem w/ not sifting it before… infact I’ve noticed that when I do it doesn’t mix w/ the water as quickly. I also have never had a problem not making a paste.
I’m not saying that it must be done, I am just saying that I have noticed a difference in the finished product when I sift, versus when I do not. Also… I just re-read my comment above, and instead of “thick paste” I should have said “thin” paste.
Of course, each person is welcome to prepare their matcha the way they see fit, with or without a chashaku (or even with or without a chasen and/or chawan) … if it works for you… great!
Yeah not sure why, until now, I’ve had better results not sifting or making a paste. Strange…
I will let you know how mine turns out when it comes in. It may have been the batch you got.
Liberteas, I agree with you. I’ve only had one matcha not require sifting for best results, and that was 52teas, I think because it gets double ground/mixed with the dried orange so it has less clumps. Then again, my results are very different from Coffteas….mandarin matcha is the only matcha I’ve ever had that didn’t foam, no matter how hard I whisked (I think because of the dried orange added in), but you’ve been able to get that (and the beer tea) to foam (without whisking, even!), so maybe you’re got awesome matcha skills I lack :)
lol no I think it’s pure awesome luck… because when I try to get it to foam I can’t. Or at least not as much as I should be able to. Exibit A being my Rishi matcha experience lol. But like I’ve said before- nearly all of my tea experiences are opposite of that of the general western tea population lol
Dude…you just lost a lot of customers, because no one likes a spammer.
Actually, they lost my sales earlier last nite. Posting a link to a woman wearing only a strategically placed bed sheet on FB is not ok. What’s with them today? Well that’s one place I won’t be getting my Breville.
I got froth!
I understand what I was supposed to do now, went out and watched a video. I wasn’t whisking fast enough. Also understand why I thought the color would be lighter. With the froth, it’s more of a sea green than a pool table felt green.
Really yum and healthy feeling/tasting. It’s like drinking shots of wheatgrass only tastes a whole lot better and is a far more pleasing aesthetic experience.
And the chasen reminds me of my dad’s shaving brush in a kind of sideways way, which is kind of a sweet memory as well. :-)
Yes, the foam is definitely well- seafoam. Makes sense:) What I don’t like about some videos is they don’t give you exact amounts. I like exact amounts. You do know you’re not gonna sleep tonite right? lol I say this as I’m contemplating a matcha smoothie myself… um… lol:)
Yummm frothy matcha! Lol
Oh yay, I was looking forward to reading your note on this! By the way, I just use a small strainer by OXO to sift my matcha, and it works really well. Glad you got it to foam :)
Thanks! I placed an order with O Cha and ordered a sifter as part of that order. I don’t know whether it would have made a difference with this, though — it didn’t really seem to need sifting. No clumps or anything, seemed very smooth. Will be interesting to play around with this more. I was so focused on the process the first couple of times I wasn’t as focused on the taste.
I’m finding that ceremonial grade matchas are the only ones that really benefit from sifting which seems backwars to me. But then again maybe my constant usage of my hands and wrists pushing my chair have given me turbo wrists when it comes to whisking- which is funny cuz I’m always so afraid of whisking too hard in fear of busting my chasen.
the need for sifting should not seem backwards – since sifting is part of the art of making matcha, sort of like allowing some time to steep is part of the art of making tea.
Shanti: I use the same thing – I just have a small strainer I got from the utensil aisle from the grocery store – it’s not even from OXO – just a cheap strainer, but it works. A tea strainer would work also.
Matcha just needs a little aeration to get the most out of it.
My package finally arrived! Included was a 1.06 tin of ceremonial grade matcha and a bamboo whisk (chasen). Thank you to DoMatcha for holding this contest! I decided to go ahead and prepare this thick style right off the bat. For those who are unfamiliar with matcha, there are two ways matcha is usually prepared: thick style (koicha) and thin style (usucha). Koicha is prepared using more matcha and less water, and thus requires very high grade matcha; using a lower grade matcha to make koicha will result in a bitter, undrinkable mess. Generally speaking, the higher the grade of matcha, the sweeter and less bitter it will be. I’m using the directions a friend of mine told me about preparing koicha, as well as the instructions listed at http://www.yuuki-cha.com/matcha_green_tea_powder.php. Note: These directions are for koicha (thick) matcha, and not usucha.
1. Sift 3.5 chashaku scoops of matcha into pre-heated, dry bowl.
The chashaku is a bamboo scoop that comes with many matcha sets. I read on a blog that the amount of matcha in a single chashaku scoop should be about the size of an almond—if anyone has learned tea ceremony, please let me know if this is accurate.
2. Heat 40-50mL of water to a temperature between 70°C and 80°C (158°F and 176°F).
I went with just under 50 mL of 165°F water which probably cooled down a little before I had a chance to add it to the matcha powder.
3. Add a small amount of the water to the sifted matcha to create a thick paste. Using the chasen (bamboo whisk), knead (don’t whisk!) the water and matcha powder together using up/down and left/right motions, or a calm 360° rotating motion.
The water and matcha paste actually was fairly smooth from what I could see, probably thanks to the sifting. It almost looked like green paint.
4. Add the rest of the water to the matcha powder. Continue kneading, not whisking, the matcha. Koicha is not supposed to be frothy, and the kneading should produce a tea that is thick, smooth, and without froth.
The resulting tea was thick and smooth. I was shocked because there was absolutely no bitterness. None. Whatsoever. Maybe my taste buds are off because I’m used to drinking very concentrated matcha using crappy quality powder, but really: I didn’t taste any bitterness or astringency. The flavor of the matcha was a little more on the savory side than sweet. It was vegetal and just lightly sweet, similar to steamed green beans, and oh so creamy…mmm. There wasn’t much of a sea or seaweedy taste. There was no grittiness or left-over clumps, and there was such a small amount of tea (50 ml) that there was no opportunity for settling. The temperature was a bit cool for me, probably because I sifted the powder after the water was done heating up, instead of before, so it just sat on my counter losing heat. Oops.
I prepared a bowl of my really low grade matcha from Mighty Leaf in the same way, and the result was a very bitter and had a thinner mouthfeel, for some reason. So, another plus of the DoMatcha ceremonial grade: the mouthfeel was really smooth, thick, and creamy. The Mighty Leaf was also gritty and didn’t mix as well as the DoMatcha, but that might have been because of error in preparation.
Unfortunately, this is the first ceremonial grade matcha I’ve ever tried, so I don’t have anything to compare it to. However, this is a really delicious matcha, and the lack of bitterness, the sweetness and savoriness, and the creamy and thick mouthfeel all make this one a winner for me.
Best tasting note on Matcha Ever! :)
I know it truly is great and btw great note.
Terrific instructional note. This is a great how-to for me as I’ve never made matcha before and my chawan just arrived in the mail yesterday so now I feel like I am ready! Or I did, until I realized I had neglected to get a scoop. Hmm. Do I need a scoop before I can do this? Or alternatively, any idea how much a scoop translates into in teaspoons?
Morgana: I now have a chashaku scoop, but until about 2 weeks ago, I have been drinking Matcha (for years!) without one, a teaspoon works just fine, and using the “almond size” guideline as suggested in this tasting note would be a good starting point… and know that everyone’s tastes are quite different, so experiment a little to find what works best for you. Best of luck with it! Matcha is awesome!
Hmm, I’m not sure how much one scoop is in teaspoons, but if you can visualize an almond, that’s about the size of a scoop. A heaping scoop would be about 1 1/2 almonds, I suppose. :)
Also, if anyone is wondering how to make thin-style usucha, you use 1 1/2 to 2 scoops of matcha, and 70 mL of water. Whisk the matcha using a “W” or zigzag motion, and voila!
Almond with or without the shell?
Oh… you also don’t need a fancy sifter (a tea strainer works as does a simple, small strainer that I picked up in the grocery store for a buck fifty). You don’t even need a chawan… you can use a smallish cereal bowl. I used to use a fork to whisk my matcha until I finally broke down and bought a chasen… and that is the one tool that I would say is probably the most essential… but it could probably be replaced with a small wire whisk…
One more thing: definitely start out with usucha if this is your first time making matcha! Koicha can be kind of off-putting if you’re not used to making matcha, and even usucha can seem strong sometimes. I like to do 3 to 4 ounces of water and 3 to 4 scoops of matcha.
Another thing to keep in mind: koicha requires very high grade matcha, so I wouldn’t necessarily use 52teas or Might Leaf matcha to make koicha :) but of course, that’s what experimentation is for :)
Almond without the shell (I’m not sure how big they are with the shell), but I tend to do a little bit bigger than almost sized scoops since a lot of websites say “heaping” scoops…so yeah, I’m not totally sure about the size.
Yes, I totally agree with Shanti. I made that very mistake of making Koicha once with a lower grade of Matcha and it was not a good thing (but it is a mistake that can be easily remedied if you add more water to thin it out a bit…) This is one reason why I usually buy high grade Matcha now, unless I find a interesting flavor (Frank’s flavored Matchas have been amazing) or latte mix that intrigues me (I’m loving Domo’s chocolate and I love Pirate’s Chai). But for unflavored Matcha, I go with Ceremonial grade because I do prefer mine slightly thicker.
Just visualize a large, roasted almond without the shell… that will give you a nice starting point… and then experiment from there to find the “just right” scoop for you. Even with the chashaku scoop I still go by “eye” than I do by “scoop” because I’ve sort of trained myself to the amount that looks right.
I agree with LiberTEAS…the scoop isn’t precise (you can google chashaku for an image) and it really does come down to just eyeballing the amount you like.
Shanti: I wanted to add another thank you! for the wonderfully detailed note! I have yet to try (non-Starbucks) Matcha, but I know when I finally do that I’ll track this note down :D
Great tasting note very informative! Thanks Shanti!
Made 2 matcha rolls today – one with pistachio creme, other one with strawberry yogurt creme. And after that i needed refreshment so i made a nice latte. Everything is so yummy :D
Enjoy the pics:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4201584&l=b69396b080&id=613843555
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4201585&l=c2cbff846d&id=613843555
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4201586&l=ee14cdb16d&id=613843555
Umm…yummy delicious amazing. I loved this I am so happy to have had the opportunity to try this, as I was one of the 10 winners. The best part is how long the flavor lingers past the sip and sollow. Even my 3 yr old daughter loved. She has a very sophisticated pallete. Don’t worry she only had a touch. I would recommend this to everyone.. Did I mention it has a sweetness that appears a minute or two after you drink it. Amazing! Thank you DoMatcha!
Thank you RachanaC for a sample of this! I am backlogging while my daughter is down for a nap…she has a double ear infection and I have been busy since Thursday taking care of a clingy and sad toddler. So since my energy was completely diminished I decided what better to try than matcha?! It’s been 105 here lately so I decided to have a matcha latte and it was quite yummy. Smooth, sweet and grassy…yum!
Aww… I hope that she feels better soon. :(
Poor baby! I’m praying for her. Ear infections are no fun! Does she have a fever? if she does, you might want to try to find some decaf white tea to get it down. I was sick about a week ago and chugged white tea. Got my fever down pretty quick w/o fever reducing meds.
Thanks you guys! She is doing better after I got her into the doctor Friday afternoon…she’s on antibiotics for 10 days and after only being on it for a day and a half I can tell she is much better today than what she was…she hasn’t had a fever since early this afternoon so that’s a plus!
Glad she is doing better. Never a good feeling when your child and sick and you feel do helpless.
After reading all the stellar reviews on this Matcha I contacted DoMatcha for a few samples to taste. However there really is not anything particularly brilliant about this matcha other than its colour. While many say this is not a bitter Matcha it really depends on how you prepare it. To be fair my samples came in tight little tubes and unless you sift that powder it will be clumpy no matter how hard you whisk it. It is a good Matcha, but far from a great Matcha.
The bulk matcha is much better! I agree though… while I would not say that there are matchas that are definitely better out there (that I’ve tried), I would definitely say that it’s better than some. So far for me there’s substandard matcha- then everything else. Pretty black and white:)
Congratulations Ewa!!
You’re kidding… hmmm… I hope mine comes w/ one- I want to get my best friend a matcha set so maybe I can find a cheap chawan and scoop.
Congrats Ewa :D I look forward to reading your “mad scientist experiments” with this ;)
Thanks guys! So many things to try! So little time!
Mine came with one, too. I don’t have a chawan, though. I’d ordered one from Maeda-En with a steepster select but they held up my order over it after the sincha came in, so I bagged it. Now waiting to get one so I can give this a try the way it’s supposed to be tried. :-)
Ooh, I’m still waiting for mine (and hoping that my neighbors didn’t steal it…grr).
Looks like it required a signature or some sort of acknowledgment of receipt, (I think my roommates accepted it) so hopefully that means it’s safe from your neighbors! Of course, that means it’s in danger from capricious delivery times….
No signature for me- mine came FedEx.
Well, like I said, I wasn’t there. There was just a little “confirmation of receipt” thingy that I thought might have meant it needed a signature.
Thanks for the information, Ewa ;) I’ll have to keep an eye out for it….