Ceremonial Matcha 100 g

The first thing that catches your eye is the colour. Not greenish — green. The sort that makes spinach look pale by comparison. This is the simplest quality test you can do at home: matcha made from young, shaded leaves is intense, whilst matcha made from old, over-dried leaves takes on a mustard-yellow hue.

The flavour is mild and distinctly sweet, with a hint of freshly cut grass and a creamy quality that lingers on the tongue for a moment after swallowing. There’s no harsh bitterness — that comes from inferior raw material or water that’s too hot.

It contains caffeine — about 60–70 mg per 2 g serving — and L-theanine, an amino acid that shaded tea leaves naturally have more of. It’s a tea to drink on its own, with nothing but water.

How to brew it

Sift two chashaku scoops (approx. 2 g) into a bowl. Pour 70 ml of water at 70–80 °C and whisk with a chasen in a ‘W’ shape for about twenty seconds, until the surface is covered with a thick foam.

One mistake ruins everything: boiling water. It burns the matcha and extracts a bitterness that cannot be undone. Leave the kettle to stand for a minute before pouring.

100 g · approx. 50 cups · ingredients: 100% matcha green tea powder. Store in an airtight container, away from light — matcha fades and loses its aroma faster than you might think.