A few newbie questions

[tealing]

Hello,

I'm new to the site and just learning about Japanese green tea -
I just ordered my first tokoname kyusu, matcha - some ceremonial (30g), some grade 5 matcha maybe for smoothies/lattes, some genmaicha, and some kuicha (not sure I spelled that one right). Looking forward to getting them in the mail and trying it all out.

Questions:

-Is Japanese green tea very different from dried middle eastern green tea - as I've had both, but so far only Japanese green tea on occasion from restaurants. How do they differ from the middle eastern?

-Which tea should I open/try first - as I don't want the rest to spoil?

-Is it true I can store the rest in the freezer until I finish the first packet?

-Has anyone tried using the little spiraley electric coffee frother to make matcha?

-Can I make matcha in a regular bowl for now - does the matcha bowl really taste different?



Thank you for reading,

-tealing

[Jack_teachat]

Hello,

I'm new to the site and just learning about Japanese green tea -
I just ordered my first tokoname kyusu, matcha - some ceremonial (30g), some grade 5 matcha maybe for smoothies/lattes, some genmaicha, and some kuicha (not sure I spelled that one right). Looking forward to getting them in the mail and trying it all out.

Hi and welcome to the forum!

My first piece of advice would be to have a good look through this forum as you will find hundreds of useful threads relating to Japanese green tea. I'll also have a go at answering your questions, so here we go!

-Is Japanese green tea very different from dried middle eastern green tea - as I've had both, but so far only Japanese green tea on occasion from restaurants. How do they differ from the middle eastern?

Yes, good quality (sencha, gyokuro etc.) Japanese green tea is steamed fresh almost immeadiately after it is picked, giving it unique characteristics. I cannot comment on how it differs from middle eastern teas I'm afraid.

-Which tea should I open/try first - as I don't want the rest to spoil?

Personally I would say start with a sencha, but if you haven't ordered any perhaps start with the genmaicha brewed in your kyusu. The others will stay fresh for some time as long as they are left sealed.

-Is it true I can store the rest in the freezer until I finish the first packet?

If you want to "cold store" some of your tea, transfer part of 1 packet of tea into an airtight tin ready for drinking and leave the rest of the tea in the bag, sealing it well (perhaps putting it into another tin) and put it in the fridge, not the freezer. When you want to drink your tea in cold store take it out the fridge in advance allowing it to return to room temperature.

-Has anyone tried using the little spiraley electric coffee frother to make matcha?

-Can I make matcha in a regular bowl for now - does the matcha bowl really taste different?

Having never made Matcha personally, someone else can probably give you a better answer. However, from what I have read/seen, matcha requires quite a vigorous whisking action to get it right, so one of those little frothers probably won't do the job. Buy a Japanese tea whisk (Chasen)

As far as bowls go, an ordinary bowl of a similar size and shape to Chawan should be fine to begin with.

Hope that helps!

Jack

[olivierco]

Welcome!

For matcha a chasen (whisk) is needed. You can however brew matcha in a normal bowl, as long as you can use the whisk in it.

Storing unopened green tea packages in the fridge (as long as you are sure that your packages are airtight ) is a good storage method.

[Shelob]

Hello,
I'm new to the site and just learning about Japanese green tea

Lots of guys here to help you out, you came to the right place
Between Olivierco, Chip, Pentox, and I know others I am leaving out, you will 'read' a plethora of knowledge on Japanese greens!

Enjoy the older posts, reviews under green tea and I know there will be a new one up soon. Yeah Chip, when will that happen?

[Space Samurai]

You can try other things to whisk the matcha, but nothing I know of does as good a job as a chasen. It just one of those times when you need a specific tool to really do the job just right.

Like others said, you can use just about anything to prepare the matcha in. As long as you have room to whisk properly, it wont effect the taste.

Cold storage is slightly contraversial. There are some that say only store unopened packages in the fridge, while others say you can store opened packages as well. That is up to you, though there are risks to storing an opened package in the fridge, so I suggest at least waiting till you are more comfortable with the tea before trying it.

Good luck and we are always here to answer your questions.

[Salsero]

If you are talking about Middle Eastern tea like Moroccan Mint tea, I think that is usually made from an average to low grade of Chinese green tea. The Chinese and Japanese greens are quite different from each other and there is quite a range of styles within Chinese. Both have their charms.

I have heard of people using a standard kitchen whisk to make matcha, and I would not hesitate to try it if I did not have a real chasen available.

[tealing]

Hello Everyone, and thank you for your replies!

Jack_teachat, I'm curious - why would you (assuming like me you never tried Japanese green teas except in a restaurant) ... why would you choose to try a sencha first - or genmaicha, in my case... etc.. ? I am assuming it's really a special experience, trying it all for the first time - and how seriously the Japanese take their tea. ^_^

olivierco, hi! Would you recommend a certain chasen - certain prong # or brand name? I am guessing I need a 100 prong one - though since I have a coffee frother I'll try it first.

Shelob, nice name!!! I will definitely read more through these forums...

Salsero, the middle east tea I have is real green tea, not mint. It was purchased as a gift to me, from a middle eastern store somewhere in Southern California, but you can see it's imported - has arabic writing on it, etc. It's dried, however, into tiny little nuggets. (Don't know if I can post a image here or not....)

I suspect that the quality of Japanese teas will be very different - I will post my views on it when I get my tea and try them out!

Thanks everyone!

[Jack_teachat]

Jack_teachat, I'm curious - why would you (assuming like me you never tried Japanese green teas except in a restaurant) ... why would you choose to try a sencha first - or genmaicha, in my case... etc.. ? I am assuming it's really a special experience, trying it all for the first time - and how seriously the Japanese take their tea. ^_^

Indeed it is a special experience, but my real reason is simply because it is the most commonly consumed tea in Japan. For some it may be different, but whenever I hear someone mention, or I just think about Japanese tea, sencha is usually what first comes to mind. I also think in terms of learning to brew Japanese tea properly, sencha is the best starting place.

[battra]

Salsero, the middle east tea I have is real green tea, not mint. It was purchased as a gift to me, from a middle eastern store somewhere in Southern California, but you can see it's imported - has arabic writing on it, etc. It's dried, however, into tiny little nuggets. (Don't know if I can post a image here or not....)

Most middle eastern stores carry inexpensive chinese tea, often "gunpowder" for making moroccan mint tea, which taste very nice - you make it from green tea, fresh mint and sugar.

Since you say it has nugget shape, I guess it is gunpowder tea (probably it is imported to Morocco from China, and then to California).

You can post images here, but you have to host it somewhere first - you can use sites like imageshack or photobucket.

[Salsero]

Most middle eastern stores carry inexpensive chinese tea, often "gunpowder" for making moroccan mint tea

And the tea itself can be very nice, but Japanese tea will be quite different.

[tealing]

Jack - my shipment of tea arrived tonight! Unfortunately not the kyusu yet. ...

after this batch is gone I'll be sure to order some sencha (and maybe gyokuro?) next.

So tomorrow morning, I'll have to decide if I want to try the matcha out or wait patiently for my kyusu. Decisions, decisions... :/

At first it surprised me when I saw that this forum existed, but I understand the love of tea..

....


Battra and Salsero - sorry bout my ignorance! Yeah, I did a google image search for gunpowder tea, and it definitely is that. Oh the irony - that bag of gunpowder tea travelled from China, to the Middle East, to California, to New Zealand. ^_^


So I'll get back on and post my findings when I've been de-tea-virginified... thanks all

[Jack_teachat]

Looking forward to hearing how you get on!