How to make Matcha?

Things you need:

Any good ceramic would do.
Best to have a bowl with a diameter of 5" to 6" inches (or 12.5 - 15.5cm)
Depth of the bowl is at least 3" inches (or 7.5cm)
- You need this space so you can whisk effectively and easily.
- A deeper bowl also means less risk of splashing :)
- A teacup or coffee mug is not ideal ... too narrow, and a mug can be too deep. Makes it much harder to whisk in a narrow cup/mug - just not enough space to make a back and forth motion with the whisk.
You can drink from the bowl - a bit gauche, but no one is judging.
- I prefer drinking from the bowl - less matcha "lost" when transferring bowl to cup. Also there is the "Aaah" factor when you finish the bowl 😋😋

Water temperature is the mot important factor for a good bowl of matcha.
- Too hot (i.e. 80℃ or higher) and you get bitter tea 🤢
- Too cold (i.e. 65℃ or lower) and you get tea with less flavour 🙁
- Ideal temperature is around 75℃ 👌✅

Make a small pot of boiling water (100℃)
Now mix the boiling hot water (100℃) with room temperature water to get the right temperature. Use a thermometer 🌡️ to check the water temperature.
- Just the $10 thermometer will do - digital readout makes it super easy.
No thermometer ? No problem! follow the steps below:
- If room temperature is around 25℃, and boiling water is at 100℃, then adding 35ml of room temperature water to 65ml of boiling water should get you water at 73.75℃ - which is close to 75℃ 👍
- If you don't have a exact measure for 35ml of water, just measure 35gm of water in a food scale/kitchen weighing machine.
  - 1ml of water ↔️ 1gm of water!!
- Vary the ratios depending on how hot you want the water + what the room temperature is in your location. A couple degrees off is fine - don't stress it.

Bitterness - matcha flavour degrades with intense heat and bitterness shoots up once you go beyond 80℃.
EGCG degradation - EGCG is a potent antioxidant and is a key health benefit of drinking matcha. Oddly enough, EGCG's peak degradation is around 80℃.
EGCG degrades with heat into GCG - which makes it bitter, but not harmful. GCG is just the thing you find in regular "black" tea, oolong tea, puerh tea etc.
- GCG (gallocatechin gallate) is also an antioxidant, and beneficial overall - but just tastes bitter.

Prepare approximately 75-100ml of water at 75℃
If possible wash the bowl in boiling hot water - this cleans the bowl, and also reduces the heat absorbed by the bowl later on :)
- Fine to skip if you are in a hurry, or just don't care as much!
Add 1-2gm of matcha to a bowl.
- If you have a chashaku then 2 full scoops is good.
Then add 1-2 tablespoons of the water (around 75℃)
Mix into a thick slurry/paste with the whisk. Get a paste that is free of lumps
Now add the rest of the water and whisk with rapid motions (see Youtube below for exact whisking action).
- See below for ideas if you don’t have a whisk!
Whisking adds a bit of foam - which really alters the taste!!
Additions to matcha:
- Skip the milk/oatmilk if you can …
- Skip sweeteners if you can …
- A good matcha is slightly bitter, has a creamy mouthfeel, and has a pleasant slightly sweet after taste.

If you don't have a whisk don't fret. You don't have to have one, you can make do with a fork, small sauce whisk.

For more matcha making tips see the videos below:

Usucha (a bit watery, definitely has foam). The instructions above are for usucha.
Koicha (thick, very little foam, and often no foam at all)
- This works for exceptional matcha. Typically reserved for gokou, or okumidori single cultivars.
- If the grade of matcha is below fantastic - making koicha with it will just amplify it's weaknesses. Similar to drinking a $15 bottle of rot-gut whisky in "on the rocks" style.
Personally, I make something between usucha and koicha
- 4 chashaku scoops, 75 ml water and lots whisking until the foam is "tiny" bubbles.

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