Homemade Matcha

Summer is around the corner! Let’s make some refreshing drinks to quench our thirst. 

Here we made a delicious Green Tea Mojito (with Matcha Green Tea). Matcha adds a nice jammy taste and compliments the mints and lime very well. Below please find the recipe for a pitcher size Green Tea Mojito.

Ingredients:  

1 tablespoon Matcha Green Tea. 

half cup white sugar. 

2 handfuls fresh mint, or to taste.

3-4 limes. 

1 cup rum. If you prefer alcohol free, use coconut water instead.  

36 oz. club soda.

Direction:

Put sugar and fresh mint into a pitcher. Muddle them until the mint leaves are broken down.

Quarter the limes and squeeze lime juice into pitcher. After being squeezed, add the lime pieces in pitcher and muddle them for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Add Matcha Green Tea into pitcher. 

Pour and stir rum into the mixture.

Add ice. 

Add club soda and stir until Matcha and sugar are well dissolved.

Matcha latte is fairly easy to make. Below are some basic steps to a nice cafe quality Matcha latte.

Steps:

Put about 1/2 teaspoonmatcha in a mug or glass

Add sweetener to taste

Heat or steam the Milk or Soy Milk

Add milk slowly while whisking/stirring the tea at the same time.

Can also add whip cream on top and sprinkle some chocolate powder.

Want a delicious and healthy breakfast to start your day? This nutrient packed Matcha green tea and oatmeal breakfast should get you charged up for the day.

Pictured above is a freshly made Matcha Oatmeal with almond milk, pine nuts, almond pieces and sweet red beans.  It is delicious, packed full of nutrients and energizing.

It is very easy to prepare. First, make an oatmeal like you normally would. We put in almond milk just because we like how it tastes. Alternatively, you can use regular milk, coconut milk  or rice milk.

Second, whisk 1 teaspoon of Matcha with 1-2 ounces of water to make a thick/dense matcha green tea and add it to the oatmeal. 

Finally, put some nuts, and/or fruits according to your preference. We like to use pine nuts , cut up almonds and sweet red beans.

So what is Tencha? Tencha is a unique kind of green tea from Japan. It is a green tea of the Gyokuro variety. In the past, it was used almost solely as a the base for Matcha. In short, Matcha is a finely ground version of Tencha.

Since Tencha is a Gyokuro variety, some would wonder what the differences are between Tencha and the famouse Gyokuro.

Firstly, it is harvested a little differently than Gyokuro. tencha leaves plucking is “three leaves and a bud”, while the Gyokuro plucking is “two leaves and a bud” on a tea branch. In layman’s term, when compared, the Tencha making calls for leaves that are slightly older. This is necessary, because Tencha needs to have a fuller flavor in order to produce a good Matcha. 

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Secondly, Tencha is flat, while the Gyokuro is rolled to needle like shape after the steaming processe. The reason for Tencha leaves being flat is that staying flat makes it easier to strip of the stems and veins. Stems and veins will bring bitterness and undesired flavor to Matcha. 

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So who does it taste? The taste profile of Tencha is similar to Gyokuro. However, because the leaves are little bit older and stems are striped, Tencha has a fuller body and taste sweeter.

Availabilty of Tencha is more limited due to the fact that it is produced mainly for Matcha production.  

Traditional Matcha Brewing

Prepare tea bowls by warming them with boiled water.

Prepare your Matcha whisk by soaking the tip in the boiled water in one of the bowls for about 10 seconds.

Pour the water out and dry the bowl with a paper towel.

Using your tea spoon, according to taste, add 1-2 teaspoons of Matcha to each bowl.

Pour 1/3 of a cup of your hot water into each bowl.

In a slow "m' motion, submerge any loose bits of Matcha that may be floating on the surface of the tea.

Whisk the tea more briskly in a back and forth motion until the surface of the Matcha becomes frothy.

Consume immediately.

Mondern/Simple Matcha Brewing

Add 1 teaspoon of Matcha to a bowl.

Put a few drops of hot water into bowl and use a whisk to whisk the Matcha into a paste.

Pour6 to 8 oz. ofhot water (160-180F) into bowl. Then in a slow "m' motion, submerge any loose bits of Matcha that may be floating on the surface of the tea.

Whisk the tea more briskly in a back and forth or circular motion until the surface of the Matcha becomes frothy.

Consume immediately.