Preparing matcha takes a minute. What separates a good bowl from a bad one is four steps and the right water temperature.
The tools
Chawan, the bowl. Wide and shallow enough that the whisk has room. A cereal bowl will do at a pinch, a mug will not.
Chasen, the bamboo whisk. Around eighty to a hundred prongs, cut from a single piece of bamboo. It creates the fine layer of foam that a spoon or a fork cannot.
Chashaku, the bamboo scoop. Two heaped scoops are about 2 grams. If you want to be precise, weigh it.
A sieve. The step most often skipped and the one that makes the biggest difference. Matcha clumps in storage. Unsifted, the clumps stay in the drink.
Usucha, step by step
- Rinse the bowl with hot water and soak the chasen briefly. Warm bowl, soft bamboo.
- Sift 2 g of matcha into the bowl.
- Pour on 70 ml of water at 80 °C. Boiling water makes matcha bitter. Without a thermometer: let it stand two to three minutes after boiling.
- Whisk briskly in W motions with the chasen, about fifteen seconds, until a fine, even layer of foam stands. Do not stir, do not circle.
Drink while the foam holds.
Matcha latte
Sift 2 g, stir to a smooth paste with 30 ml of water, then pour in 150 to 200 ml of milk. Oat milk with a slightly higher fat content carries the taste better than the thin version.
The most common mistake is too little powder. One gram in 250 ml of milk gives you milk with colour.
Iced matcha
Sift 2 g, put it in a jar with 50 ml of cold water, shake for thirty seconds, pour over ice. The chasen stays in the drawer for this one.
The four most common mistakes
| Mistake | What happens | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Water too hot | bitter, scratchy finish | 80 °C, let it cool if needed |
| Not sifted | clumps, uneven taste | always sift, it takes five seconds |
| Too little powder | watery, in a latte only colour | 2 g per bowl, more in a latte |
| Chasen left standing in water | prongs break, bamboo moulds | rinse, shake out, dry upright |
Caring for the chasen
After use rinse with warm water only, no soap, no dishwasher. Shake it out and let it dry with the prongs upward. A chasen holder keeps the shape but is not essential. With daily use a chasen lasts a few months. Breaking prongs are normal and not a defect.
What matcha is and how quality shows is covered in the post What matcha is.