The Art of Matcha Green Tea Preparation
So you’ve just received your very first tin of Matcha green tea. You carefully open the sealed pouch inside, and whiff—a cloud of fine green dust floats to meet your nose. You get a hint of the tea’s fresh, earthy aroma. It's been said that Earth without art is just ‘eh,’ (think about it for a second), so you want to approach preparing your Matcha with an artful understanding.
There are several ways to prepare a matcha beverage: three main ways to drink your tea (two traditional styles and a “to-go” method), and countless contemporary variations ranging from café lattes and hot chocolate, to baking and cooking your tea into countless recipes.
Watch our how-to videos for a demonstration of both traditional and on-the-go ways to make your matcha!
Traditional Preparation: There are two main styles of traditional preparation: Koicha and Usucha. Daily Matcha drinkers will mostly prepare their Matcha in the Usucha style.
Make Your Matcha
First, measure out or sift 1.5 chashaku spoonfuls (2g, or 1/2-1 teaspoon) of Matcha into your chawan or latte bowl. Miso soup bowls or rice bowls work as well—you can use any wide-set dish that you can sip from comfortably.
Heat your water to 175ºF. Pour just enough over the powder to slightly wet it, and use your chasen to make a paste and remove remaining clumps if you haven’t sifted them out. This step is called koicha.
Now we make usucha! Add about 2-3 ounces of water into your chawan and whisk. To properly whisk with your chasen, make an “m” shape motion using your wrist. You’ll want to be gentle on pressure, and ideally, your whisk will not touch the bottom of your bowl in order to avoid damaging the chasen’s delicate bamboo prongs. Whisk for about 30 seconds, or until your Matcha reaches a silky, uniform froth with small bubbles. The quality of the froth will depend on the temperature of the water and how much water you use, so be careful adding too much water or using water that is too cold.
Step back, admire your handiwork, and appreciate the way the Matcha looks in your artisan chawan. You just created a masterpiece! You’ll probably even want to snap a few photos and upload them to Instagram to share how beautiful your matcha looks—if you can wait long enough, that is. Go ahead and take a sip. Enjoy your Matcha moment.
On the Go?
Take your Matcha with you! Best to leave your handcrafted chawan at home, but Matcha is just as easily prepared in a to-go thermos as it is whisked.
- Measure out a teaspoon of Matcha into your to-go mug
- Fill with cold-175ºF water
- Close the lid tightly—this is an important step because…
- Time to shake vigorously. And by vigorously, we mean dance around, pretend you’re a cocktail aficionado, or shake your mug like a Polaroid picture for about a minute.
- Careful when opening the lid! You can just sip straight away, but the best part of making Matcha to-go is seeing the incredible foam your awesome dance moves produced.
There you have it! Creamy, umami green goodness to have with you wherever you are.
* Remember—refrigerate your Matcha after opening. The tea is sensitive to light, air, and heat, and will keep well for about 6 months before its flavors and color start to dull. Fresh Matcha is the frothiest Matcha! Read more about caring for your tea here.
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