Based on a discussion of home-made genmai cha in another thread I toasted rice in a dry frying pan and mixed it with some green tea that's not entirely to my taste. I'm not surprised that it's not quite as good as my Den's green genmai cha, but I'd like to try one more thing to rescue/improve it. That would be to dust it with matcha.
How good does the matcha have to be for this use? I'd rather not send away for it because I just ordered 2 bags of tea from O'Cha and I really don't need more tea right now. I live near NYC, and I'll be in the village, theater district and Tribeca (right around the corner from Whole Foods) this week. Any advice on brands, price, etc for this type of use?
depends on how good you want it to be, non? even food-grade matcha will work, since the matcha isn't really the main attraction here...
that said, this is what i do.
1/2 cup bancha
1/4 cup genmai, toasted
1/4 cup mochi-hana (popped genmai, or popcorn, whatever i have on hand)
1 tbsp food grade matcha (which i also use for baking)
throw it all in a clean tea canister and shake.
makes about 2 days worth of genmaicha
[/i]
that said, this is what i do.
1/2 cup bancha
1/4 cup genmai, toasted
1/4 cup mochi-hana (popped genmai, or popcorn, whatever i have on hand)
1 tbsp food grade matcha (which i also use for baking)
throw it all in a clean tea canister and shake.
makes about 2 days worth of genmaicha
[/i]bring new life to your cup of tea! http://www.teacipes.com
well, to clarify things, i use about 2 tbsp of leaves per cup (less leaves per scoop because of the genmai filling it up!). plus, i'm not the only one who drinks it in the household (usually my 'other half' has a cup after dinner, and then another cup during late-night videogame sessions).JRS22 wrote:So a 1/2 cup of bancha made into genmai cha lasts you only 2 days? It must come out really good for you to drink so much.
Do you think food-grade matcha is what a company like Den's uses on their green genmai cha? That would be my only source for comparison.
so it's not much tea to begin with... i just make small batches because matcha oxidizes so quickly.
now, if you used regular ceremonial grade, I'm sure it will rock your socks off (i've tried, and it's quite delicious. But at $20+ an ounce, I'm not sure if it's something I would do on a regular basis). i'm not sure if Den's uses <i>food grade</i> matcha, but at that price it can't be really expensive matcha to begin with.
why don't you experiment with what you have on hand? i'm sure you can pick up a little can at whole foods or at your nearest Japanese market. For starters, a food grade matcha can is about 10 bucks for an 1 oz can (in California prices... NY prices, that translates to 11-12 bucks).
bring new life to your cup of tea! http://www.teacipes.com
You're right - I just checked and Den's only adds $.50 per 2 oz package to go from regular genmai cha to green. Since I've never had matcha I have nothing on hand so I'll take your advice and start with the food grade.TEAcipes wrote:Now, if you used regular ceremonial grade, I'm sure it will rock your socks off (i've tried, and it's quite delicious. But at $20+ an ounce, I'm not sure if it's something I would do on a regular basis). i'm not sure if Den's uses <i>food grade</i> matcha, but at that price it can't be really expensive matcha to begin with.
why don't you experiment with what you have on hand? i'm sure you can pick up a little can at whole foods or at your nearest Japanese market. For starters, a food grade matcha can is about 10 bucks for an 1 oz can (in California prices... NY prices, that translates to 11-12 bucks).