I used the Ippodo started kit to get started on Matcha. The Matcha powder they include is excellent quality and a substantial amount. The chawan is good quality and a pleasure to handle. They include a chasan, which is handy, and the whisk works just fine. While I have finished off the original matcha, I am still using the wares maybe six months into my (admittedly modest) matcha history.
https://shop.ippodo-tea.co.jp/shop/en/g ... sSeq=10166
Wesli and I both wrote strong favorable reviews on the vendor's site. I originally ordered a separate sifter, but never use it. I do like to sift, but instead just use a Tea Gschwendner tea strainer to sift the matcha on a per portion basis. I put the strainer in the chawan, the tea in the strainer, and push the tea through the strainer with the chasan. A plain kitchen strainer would also work fine for this.
I think the price at about (I think) $55 to $60 including shipping is very reasonable since you get everything you need at once. Also, the shipping is fast, taking well under a week in my case. There is some company in CA that offers the same set but at a good deal higher price and probably slower shipping.
Thanks Salsero. If what I ordered agrees with my stomach, and I like it which is probably a given, I'll order the set from ippodo. As it stands now I will have to improvise the whisk and bowl, which will probably diminish the experience of brewing matcha.Salsero wrote:I used the Ippodo started kit to get started on Matcha. The Matcha powder they include is excellent quality and a substantial amount. The chawan is good quality and a pleasure to handle. They include a chasan, which is handy, and the whisk works just fine. While I have finished off the original matcha, I am still using the wares maybe six months into my (admittedly modest) matcha history.
https://shop.ippodo-tea.co.jp/shop/en/g ... sSeq=10166
Wesli and I both wrote strong favorable reviews on the vendor's site. I originally ordered a separate sifter, but never use it. I do like to sift, but instead just use a Tea Gschwendner tea strainer to sift the matcha on a per portion basis. I put the strainer in the chawan, the tea in the strainer, and push the tea through the strainer with the chasan. A plain kitchen strainer would also work fine for this.
I think the price at about (I think) $55 to $60 including shipping is very reasonable since you get everything you need at once. Also, the shipping is fast, taking well under a week in my case. There is some company in CA that offers the same set but at a good deal higher price and probably slower shipping.
Jul 20th, '08, 01:09
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Really, it shouldn't diminish it too much (except aesthetically perhaps!). The main thing is to use a bowl or some other vessel that is large enough to allow whisking, and whise internal shape allows the whisk to reach the matcha powder inside without missing any out.Ti wrote:As it stands now I will have to improvise the whisk and bowl, which will probably diminish the experience of brewing matcha.
A small metal whisk will also do quite nicely - as long as you don't actually chip the bowl. That kind of roughage, you can probably do without
I, too, have been dying to try some matcha and was all set to order from the link provided by sal when i recalled a kit given to me this past christmas containing all the necessary components for matcha brewing, including this little packet of "japanese green tea," as it states. Now im really excited! i had forgotten all about this little gift! however, the tea itself is of extremely questionable origin and quality, and has been sitting in my bedroom closet for the past 7 months in the non-airtight plastic baggie in which it came. So, i'm skeptical now as to how this will turn out. 
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[/img]After 7 months if it's unopened it should be fine, but I wouldn't necessarily use it as a great indicator of what good fresh matcha would taste like. I would imagine as well that it might have been sitting around for a while in transit and on the shelf of wherever it was before it was a gift. But if you don't have to pick up all of the stuff for it, that'll be a good place to start out.Dr. Eel wrote:I, too, have been dying to try some matcha and was all set to order from the link provided by sal when i recalled a kit given to me this past christmas containing all the necessary components for matcha brewing, including this little packet of "japanese green tea," as it states. Now im really excited! i had forgotten all about this little gift! however, the tea itself is of extremely questionable origin and quality, and has been sitting in my bedroom closet for the past 7 months in the non-airtight plastic baggie in which it came. So, i'm skeptical now as to how this will turn out.
well i tried that matcha from the kit but ugh! that was bad. i mean really bad. the first problem i noticed was before i even opened the package i read the label which said, rather vaguely, "japanese green tea." above that in smaller print i made out the words "japanese sencha," so i knew before going into it that it wasnt real matcha. the moment the first drop of the emerald green liquid touched my tongue, i recognized a tangy bitterness. not the common bitterness associated with over-brewing, but a bitterness of nastiness. i dont know how to describe that taste other than wholly undesirable. nonetheless, i told myself to down the full cup, and regrettably i listened to myself. after that experience, though, i really want to try some real matcha! i hear that if quality matcha is brewed and made properly, a delicious sweet elixir results. im intrigued...
Yeah, of all the sensations that I normally find with matcha, bitterness is not one of them. Although one thing to know is that matcha should be created at MUCH lower temperatures than any other tea. How hot was the water that you were using to make the tea with?Dr. Eel wrote:well i tried that matcha from the kit but ugh! that was bad. i mean really bad. the first problem i noticed was before i even opened the package i read the label which said, rather vaguely, "japanese green tea." above that in smaller print i made out the words "japanese sencha," so i knew before going into it that it wasnt real matcha. the moment the first drop of the emerald green liquid touched my tongue, i recognized a tangy bitterness. not the common bitterness associated with over-brewing, but a bitterness of nastiness. i dont know how to describe that taste other than wholly undesirable. nonetheless, i told myself to down the full cup, and regrettably i listened to myself. after that experience, though, i really want to try some real matcha! i hear that if quality matcha is brewed and made properly, a delicious sweet elixir results. im intrigued...
But yeah get some amazing matcha and have an amazing matcha time!
Jul 22nd, '08, 01:43
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Most "kits", it seems, have pretty dreadful matcha in them. The basic problem is that the kit contains wares as well as the tea itself; the wares last indefinitely, but matcha is extremely perishable, especially when not refrigerated. I've seen reviews of such kits on Amazon.com and the reaction - to the matcha, and sometimes to the enclosed wares as well - seems to be almost universally negative.
Please don't let this experience put you off matcha. If you have a chance to try some truly fresh matcha, do so - I bet you'll really enjoy it.
Please don't let this experience put you off matcha. If you have a chance to try some truly fresh matcha, do so - I bet you'll really enjoy it.
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Jul 22nd, '08, 11:27
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Jul 22nd, '08, 11:31
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Sorrry Salsero, I was overgeneralizing.
I've never been in a proper tea shop, like Ippodo, that sells its own kits. I am sure that they would take care to include good-quality items - including the all-important matcha.
I was thinking of the bulk-produced gift sets that you see in bookshops and department stores and suchlike... the ones that have been sitting on the shelves for goodness-knows-how-many-weeks or months, and whose matcha has long since become old and tasteless.
I've never been in a proper tea shop, like Ippodo, that sells its own kits. I am sure that they would take care to include good-quality items - including the all-important matcha.
I was thinking of the bulk-produced gift sets that you see in bookshops and department stores and suchlike... the ones that have been sitting on the shelves for goodness-knows-how-many-weeks or months, and whose matcha has long since become old and tasteless.
______________________
"Never trust a man who, when left alone in a room with a tea cosy, doesn't try it on."
- Billy Connolly
"Never trust a man who, when left alone in a room with a tea cosy, doesn't try it on."
- Billy Connolly
[/quote]Dr. Eel wrote:oh yea, i definitely am going to get some of the real stuff, but i didnt realize that matcha was brewed at lower temperatures as well. how low are we talking? o-cha recommends 175*, which is what i followed. maybe it was too hot.
Personally I've been using temps around 160F or so. I tend to like it better when made at a lower temp.
Jul 22nd, '08, 20:10
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Honestly, the "bad" kind of kit is the only kind I've ever seenSalsero wrote:Just keeping you honest.chamekke wrote:Sorrry Salsero, I was overgeneralizing...
But you're right. Best not to scare people away from the good kits!!!
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"Never trust a man who, when left alone in a room with a tea cosy, doesn't try it on."
- Billy Connolly
"Never trust a man who, when left alone in a room with a tea cosy, doesn't try it on."
- Billy Connolly
I finally tried matcha:
¼ tspn matcha
½ c water @ 175F which dropped to about 165F in pre-warmed cup
Did my best to whip it into a froth using wire wisk which was waste of time. Only made a few bubbles. Need a real whisk. Drank on empty stomach. No stomach upset which was a big concern about this tea.
Had a nice vegetable-like smell like cooked greens or something and had a lot flavor that wasn’t like most tea I’ve ever tried, no bitterness. Faintly sweet aftertaste. Seemed like there was too much water. Probably had something to do with not having a real whisk but what do I know.
I just found out what Koicha is. This is all getting complicated.
¼ tspn matcha
½ c water @ 175F which dropped to about 165F in pre-warmed cup
Did my best to whip it into a froth using wire wisk which was waste of time. Only made a few bubbles. Need a real whisk. Drank on empty stomach. No stomach upset which was a big concern about this tea.
Had a nice vegetable-like smell like cooked greens or something and had a lot flavor that wasn’t like most tea I’ve ever tried, no bitterness. Faintly sweet aftertaste. Seemed like there was too much water. Probably had something to do with not having a real whisk but what do I know.
I just found out what Koicha is. This is all getting complicated.