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Fresh Imports Monthly4 weeks ago a mate of mine came to the warehouse with his best friend.
Mate A:Hey Leo, you already know I love matcha. But my mate here needs a quick rundown on Matcha Making Basics.
Mate B: Yea, I have basically everything to make it but it still tastes like dirt.
If you ever wanted to teach your friends to start their matcha journeys at home, here's what I would tell them.
Set the right temp
Hot water release more flavours and froth in matcha.
Whether umami or sweetness, hotter temperature extracts those notes faster compared to cold.
If you've ever had a watery matcha problem, higher temperatures makes matcha easier to froth.
70°C-85°C (158°F-185°F) is the sweet range for thicker, foamier matcha. But this is only realistic if you have a temperature controlled kettle.
For most, when water is done boiling on a normal kettle, leave it to cool for 6-8 minutes. Personally, I've made matcha in the high 80cs' and it turned out great.
Don't stress if you don't have the right temperature. Just make sure it's hot enough to the touch without burning yourself.
On the opposite, cold water pulls flavour from matcha slower. It doesn't have enough energy to break down antioxidants that release those flavours.
But don't look down on cold water. It works great on bitter, fishy or astringent (dry-sour) powders.
Cold temps mean those notes are less developed and condensed. This makes cold water your trump card for turning low grade, cheap or undrinkable matcha (when hot) into something crisp and refreshing.
And in the same way, matcha that is naturally smoother and deeper in hot water becomes underwhelming in cold temperatures.
Use this concept to push out or pull more flavours from any matcha.
Starting ratios for latte & usucha
The number one factor affecting how much you enjoy matcha is the proportion of matcha to liquid balance.
After testing 100s of ratios. This is what I use when making drinks for customers.
For matcha lattes the 1g : 10ml water : 20ml milk ratio is fool proof.
With that, I go for 4g matcha, 40ml hot water, 80ml milk. It's punchy and works with every grades of matcha.
Of course, add your own sweetness to taste.
With Usucha (traditional thin tea) use 1g : 60ml hot water to make frothy, balanced thin-teas for exploring matcha nuance.
This is more like a shot of matcha than regular thin-tea. But it's light and easy to appreciate.
More water or milk thins out the drink and flavours. In the case of not "strong enough" taste, opt to use more powder and less liquids first, before switching to a different matcha.
Always play with the temperature of milk and water first to hammer down your golden ratio.
Whisk it up
Non of the above matters when your whisk game is weak.
How to improve your whisking ritual in 3 easy steps:
1. Hold the bowl down with your other hand.
Relax both your shoulders but hold the bowl down firmly on table.
If you feel tight and your posture is hunched over, stretch and straighten your posture out.
2. Flick your wrist like you're beating eggs
The whisk is slightly angled when you start whisking. Like how you would hold a pen.
Start whisking in a zig-zag pattern. Up and down, left to right.
Remember to breathe and stay relaxed.
3. Let the whisk glide over the bottom.
Instead of pressing hard on the whisk -- focus on flicking the whisk.
Stop pressuring yourself and the whisk to perform "faster". Treat it like a feather.
When you aim for good technique, the speed follows.
Hope that helps.
Appreciate you being here.
PS. If you or your friends want to start the matcha journey, we've made samples of our delicious matcha available for taste testing. You get to try 8 samples for the price of 1. And you even get fresh whisk with it if you don't already have one.
Have a look here to get started.
Leo
