Matcha for cooking?

[ryux]

Hi everyone,

I love matcha ice cream but unfortunately, where I live, I can't get any other than from sushi restaurants. I do have an ice cream maker and I wanna make my own matcha ice cream.

Any suggestions/recommandations on matcha for cooking purposes? (like ice-cream, cake, matcha latte, etc). What vendors/items did you find great?

Thanks a lot for your help!

[zacstill]

I have used ito en brand matcha that I bought at wegmans to make green tea ice cream and matcha lattes, and it's great for the price.
I bought a 20g container for around 7 bucks.
I did a straight up taste test when I got home, preparing it the same way as I make my regular matcha in the morning.
There is more bitterness, duller color (both the broth and the powder), and less sweetness with this brand but it makes a great food-grade tea for me.

My roommate and I used his soccer ball ice cream maker to make the ice cream, and it came out very very good, better than my local teahouse.
http://housewares.about.com/od/gadgetst ... eze_RO.htm

I tried finding this brand of matcha online just now, but I cant find a link to it anywhere, not through ito en or wegmans...

[Chip]

I use matcha a lot in cooking, etc. But I tend to use what I have around especially as a matcha has been open a while and needs to be used up (however I have not had this problem as of late).

I think some of the lower priced ones are excellent for these uses as they tend to have a sharper flavor profile than more costly ones. The more costly ones can be a little too "soft" in flavor to compete with other flavors once blended.

[woozl]

Is matcha made from only first flush teas?
Or is it made more frequently from other fresher tea?
I understand as a powder form it has a short shelf life.
If I buy matcha now, early spring, what is it processed from?
Last years tencha??

[Pentox]

I'd just use the cooking grade matcha stuff. A lot of vendors will have their ingredient grade / cooking grade stuff.

Lupicia, Hibiki-an, Matcha Source all have some and come to mind off of the top of my head. (Matcha Source it appears is only by the kilo though. I wouldn't get that much)