Happy New Year!

The community threads are a place where you can:

• Ask for recommendations.
• Introduce yourself to the community.
• Share your favorite latte/blended-drink recipe of the moment.
• Find other matcha people in your city or country.
• Tell us what's in your chawan.

Hi, I recently bought Matcha from Bryan Johnson's Blueprint. The matcha is nice and dark green, my first time seeing this level quality matcha as a beginner

I got some hot water mixed with cold water (half and half) but a very small amount to make a matcha paste initially.

The amount I added was a level teaspoon.

Then, I added half cold half hot water (about a quarter of a cup of water) and whisked.

After it foamed, I tried to drink it but it was quite bitter.

Now, as someone who typically drinks teas with at least a teaspoon of honey, maybe I sense it is bitter but others do not?

I am not sure if I'm doing something wrong, if my taste buds are off because I haven't adjusted to unsweetened tea, or if the tea itself is bitter, or maybe a combination of all those things.

hi everyone! i'm new to making my own matcha, and i am curious as to how you make your own? can you share it? I'd love to try different recipes of matcha drinks, thank you!

My matcha powder smells somewhat like henna powder with a sweeter note, is it what matcha is supposed to smells like?

I was wondering if anyone has tried injecting argon gas into their matcha containers to maintain freshness. I do it for wine that I can't finish so that I can drink it over a longer period of time. I wonder if the same can be done for matcha in addition to the fridge storage, desiccant pack, etc... The argon would be a barrier between the oxygen and the matcha hopefully slow the decay.

Went to make myself some matcha and thought I must have put it back at the grocery store. Well I went shopping again today and lo and behold it was in my car! It sat there for almost two weeks, (im embarrassed tbh) should I toss it?

I'll mention its been 50ish degrees and under where I live if that helps!

Edit: Thanks for the replies! I've used it a couple times for a latte and it tastes fine, maybe a bit weak but I don't make matcha at home often so it could honestly be my inexperiance.

Hey there,

I usually make matcha by adding hot water 50ml (176 degrees) to matcha, whisking it for 15 secs, then adding 50 ml milk. But then I microwave it because I want a hot latte. Would heating the milk before make a difference? If so, should I invest in a frother?

My matcha whisk has a huge split at the base, and I reckon it's probably time for a new one.

However, I wonder what I might have done wrong so I can avoid this problem for my next whisk. I would appreciate any recommendations! :)

I always prep the chasen in warm water (~60 celsius degrees) before every whisk, and let it fully dry after use.

I use it almost daily, for about 3 months. Is it normal for it to disintegrate after that many uses? The prongs are in perfect condition, no bend or break. Can weather be a factor of this? It's quite cold where I live, so I figure it might be the sudden temperature jump when I put my matcha whisk into warm water for prep that causes this. Would love to hear your comments.

https://preview.redd.it/d2rdil54pu8e1.png?width=280&format=png&auto=webp&s=cce6c42568eaca793ae3ff8e5316a8bcdbc38f92

i’ve ordered & tried a variety of matcha to see what I prefer, I’ve heard good things about matcha kari online so I gave it a go. Although I enjoyed the taste, for the first time I felt the caffeine levels to the point where I could barely sleep that night? In case it was a fluke I tried it again, this time earlier and with less. I ended up being able to sleep that night but my heart was racing the whole day. Has this happened with anyone?? I’ve had a lot of different brands but never this issue..

The community threads are a place where you can:

• Ask for recommendations.
• Introduce yourself to the community.
• Share your favorite latte/blended-drink recipe of the moment.
• Find other matcha people in your city or country.
• Tell us what's in your chawan.

During a recent trip to Kyoto I got Ippodo’s Kyoto exclusive Kyogoku-no-mashi in 20gm and wanted to compare it to the highly beloved by the matcha community Ummon-no-mashi (40mg).

Kyogoku notes: Extremely fragrant Fresh, fruity and very flowery smell and taste No astringency at all No bitterness Not as rich as Ummon

Ummon notes: Strong umami Richness Very astringent Light chocolate notes Not a light-tasting matcha

As a beginner, to my surprise, I prefer Kyogoku much more. Ummon right now feels too complex and astringent to my taste. If I could get Kyogoku as my daily matcha, I would absolutely stick to it. It is such a delight with not overly complicated taste but a strong aromatic experience.

Although I had seen the reports of low inventory and purchase restrictions online, I was still hopeful I would be able to get some Ippodo and Marukyu Koyamaen when I was in Kyoto last week 11/22-11/30…but after hitting a few dead ends, I decided to divert my attention to trying other brands instead, especially ones that I haven’t seen a ton on social media.

I got to the MK outpost in the basement of the Takashiyama dept store (on the street Shijo) around 3PM and the matcha fridge was completely cleared. The clerk said they open at 10AM and by 11AM it’s all sold out…so if you want to come to this location, come early! As a result I didn’t end up trying to go to the main store, bc my trip wasn’t an entirely matcha focused trip and we had other things we wanted to do.

In the same dept store, I stumbled upon a Nakamura Tokichi cafe! I had seen this brand a ton on Tiktok and IG, but thought it was just an aesthetic brand, but after doing more research realized that it has a 200 year history so decided to try it. They only had the Senun no shiro at this location for around 1600¥ for a 30g can. Pro tip - they have tax free so if you spend over 5000¥ you will get ~8-9% back (the tax is 10% but then there’s always a small fee that the dept store charges to give you the cash back). I also got a gyokuro tea leaf tin for my parents called Kagyoku bc it has the kanji character of my Chinese name in it!

Fukujuen was close by so we walked over there to try our luck. The street level store is all loose leaf teas, bowls etc but go down the stairs (outside) to the basement for their matcha. You can also enjoy their cafe and reserve tea making classes at this flagship store. They were only out of 1 type of matcha, but otherwise all their top matchas were available! I got their top two kinds banjo no mukashi and zuien. I think they were in the 2000-3000¥ range.

Also on Shijo was a random souvenir store displaying Ippodo matcha. Only one kind was available and otherwise there was a sign that said there was a shortage and they weren’t selling matcha. So I got 2 cans of Horai, so I could give one to my sister. I believe this was also in the 2000-3000¥ range. Their whisks and bowls are very expensive though so do not get them from Ippodo!

We had to ditch our hiking plans due to my leg hurting, so we replaced that day with a day trip to Uji instead! Since we hadn’t really planned this out, we did pretty minimal research and knew that Tsuen was one of the oldest brands there, Nakamura Tokichi also had a big presence, along with Fukujuen. When we got there, we went into 3 stores all called Kanbayashi and they claim to be the oldest tea store in Uji. We couldn’t really figure out if they were just different branches of the same company or completely different, but ultimately went to the Kanbayashi Shunsho bc they had the purple tin matchas that people reviewed online.

Not many of the tea shops offered tax free, so Itoh Kyuemon was packedddd with tourists. When I saw their packaging, I realized that I had randomly gotten this matcha a year ago on my last trip and liked it! When I showed the staff a picture, they said it was all sold out 😱 so what was everyone buying? All their cookies, desserts etc. 🤣 This was the only brand that I noticed with inventory challenges, as their other branch near the Uji JR station didn’t even have any matcha tins on display. Side note: the small shop outside the Nakamura Byodoin cafe didn’t carry matcha, but not sure if the main store did…so they may be another one hit with the inventory challenges.

We stopped at Fukujuen factory across the river because they had a matcha museum, which was informative if you watch the video. We only got loose leaf tea for family this time, specially the gyokoru which is the best quality type of tea.

Our final stop was at a really lovely tea shop called Takumi-no Yakata (pictured) that was very educational and fun. We randomly stopped in because it wasn’t full and had a nice view of the river. The ladies there were so nice and we got a whole lesson (in English) on how to prepare and drink gyokuro tea! Highly recommend starting here and at Fukujuen so you can learn more about the tea harvesting process before exploring the rest of Uji.

And that’s a wrap on my matcha report!

Hello! I need some help!

Ive been trying to perfect my matcha latte recipe. I finally got to a point where the matcha flavor is coming in instead of getting drowned out by the milk, but the problem is now there's a strange sort of powdery texture.

My ratios are:

8 grams of matcha 8oz of water (tried 175 and 180 degrees) 8oz of milk

I sift the matcha first then pour in some water and use an electric milk frother. Pour more water, froth again. Pour more water, froth again. I make sure everything is dissolved and there's no residue left on the bottom. Then I pour this mixture over the milk.

I know a chasen would be ideal but I do prefer something I can throw in the dishwasher.

Any ideas for what I should do? Is the amount of matcha simply too high for the amount of milk and water?

Hello!

I recently visited the Matcha Tokyo in Japan and fell in love with their matcha lattes. I was wondering if any one had tried it before and knew of any brands that carried a product that tastes similar to the one they use? My guess is that they use their "Premium" match powder. It's sold out everywhere so I was hoping to purchase something similar. They describe it as being "high umami".

This chasen is only 5 months old. I’ve been using my chasen to whisk other things like chai and tonight, I used it to whisk hot chocolate.

As I was washing things up, I noticed what looks like the water line of the damp bristles is actually notched down, as if those parts of those bristles melted or disintegrated. I also noticed a couple splinters popping out.

Is this normal? Is it a chemical reaction perhaps with chocolate (I did notice it thickened up noticeably later on as I had left the chasen in the pot/hot chocolate mix for <a minute as I washing up)? Is this quality issue or a potential health issue?

Im going to purchase matcha of a known brands and i found some at a Chinese vendor and the price is seems to be ok but im worried if there are fake/replicas matcha out there? or there is not such thing?
would like to know

i wish i was really articulate with my words. i wanna recommend some culinary grade matcha from marukyu koyamaen since it seems like most of their stocks are finished due to high demand. and if there's anyone who are lookign for a bit cheaper matcha just to try out or for everyday drinking without breaking your bank . so far from the culinary side of marukyu koyamaen i have tried:

-marukyu koyamaen ayame (not recommended as a drinking option)

-marukyu koyamaen wakatake (recommended)

-marukyu koyamaen byakuren (recommended)

so ayama i tried making an oat milk latte with it but its extremely bitter didnt mix well with oat milk. so its better to just try it in baking instead.

waketake has a little astringency aftertaste little bitter also little smooth but doesnt have that matcha aroma or umami taste. and it does mix well as an oat milk latte, i haven't tried with other dairy options. i use 2.5g of matcha powder and add vanilla syrup with it.

byakuren, not sure why i havent seen any review of this anywhere yet maybe cos its a culinary matcha. the taste i would like to say have a very long astringency aftertaste which lingers for a long time. doesnt have much matcha flavour if you add your usual amount of milk. gotta do the matcha to oat milk ratio almost 2:3 to be able to taste matcha with 3g matcha powder. idk if i make any sense, ask me any questions you got instead. :)))

The community threads are a place where you can:

• Ask for recommendations.
• Introduce yourself to the community.
• Share your favorite latte/blended-drink recipe of the moment.
• Find other matcha people in your city or country.
• Tell us what's in your chawan.

I'm quite new into making matcha at home (not new into consuming it though via quality vendors). And as I’m chasing that perfect foam and learning about whisking techniques, I just had a random realization: chawan shape and material matters for the foam creation.

I was preparing my second bowl for the day, got lazy and instead of doing the full ceremony with my regular chawan I whisked powder in my drinking cup which is wider, more round and has smooth glazing comparing to my chawan.

The foam shaped incredibly easy and ended up being puffy and thick, however, it has way more bubbles than with my regular chawan.

Would like to as knowledgable folks if chawan shape and glazing matters in their experience?

Just thinking along the lines of olive oil where generally the more bitter/peppery is correlating to the potency/number of polyphenols. I realize some or probably most here aren’t drinking matcha specifically for this reason but again, curious if this is a known fact with matcha, where a similar correlation applies?