Making Matcha green tea isn’t like brewing up your ordinary cup of tea. There’s no tea bag or loose leaves involved, and you don’t need to add any lemon, sugar or honey to make the tea taste better.
Matcha is a finely ground powder, and one that is pure, meaning it doesn’t have any food additives or dissolving agents added into it like most other drink powders do. This also means it’s not a drink that easily dissolves just by adding it to water.
To make matcha green tea, you can do it one of two ways: the traditional Japanese way using traditional Japanese tools or the American way using kitchen bowls and utensils you already have.
Preparing Matcha Tea the Traditional Japanese Way
The traditional Japanese tea making instruments you will need are: a tea strainer, bamboo whisk, bamboo tea ladle and a traditional Matcha ceramic bowl, which has a flat bottom. The ingredients you need are hot water and Matcha powder.
Using these tools and ingredients, follow these steps to make your green tea:
- Step 1: Sift ¼-½ tsp. of Matcha powder through the tea strainer into the ceramic bowl. Use the tea ladle to press the Matcha completely through the strainer.
- Step 2: Pour 2 oz. of steaming hot water into the bowl with the powder.
- Step 3: Using the bamboo whisk, mix the Matcha powder and hot water together until the mixture is clump-free. The liquid mixture should become frothy and a green foam should appear at the top of the mixture.
- Step 4: Remove the whisk, drink out of the ceramic bowl and enjoy!
Preparing Matcha Tea the American Way
Some people think that the only way to drink Matcha green tea is the traditional Japanese way, but it’s not! When it’s used for just a daily culinary drink, special bamboo tools aren’t necessary. Matcha green tea is just as easy to make—and tastes just as good—when prepared the American way.
You will still only use the two ingredients, Matcha powder and hot water, and the tools you will need are any deep ceramic bowl and a wire whisk or an immersion blender. Using these ingredients and kitchen tools, here’s what you do:
- Step 1: Pour ¼-½ tsp. of Matcha powder into a warmed ceramic bowl. (Warm your bowl in the microwave or oven beforehand to help your tea retain its hot temperature.)
- Step 2: Pour 2 oz. of steaming hot water into the bowl with the powder.
- Step 3: Using a wire whisk or immersion blender, quickly blend the powder and water together for two minutes. Then, continue whisking your mixture until it’s completely blended together and a layer of foam appears on the top of the mixture.
- Step 4: Remove the whisk, drink and enjoy!
Some Matcha green tea brewing recipes call for 1 tsp. of Matcha powder per 6 oz. of water, but you can adjust those measurements to your exact taste liking.