Today's MatchaWan :D (new name, but tea's the same)

[Chip]

Thank you, Seeker for taking time from your studies to share your matcha and chawan with us! As always, inspiring and beautiful.

Thanks Adam as well. Hopefully Adam completed his long journey safely. Have not heard from him in several days.

[Seeker]

Thanks Chip!

My two recent posts have provided me with some solace during the ups and downs of exam prep.

BTW, I've rescheduled my test from Tue 1/26 to Thursday 1/28 because I haven't been able to complete a mock exam in the allotted time, so needed more time to gain speed .

(teeth chatter, jittering/shaking, wide-eyes - only a week to go )

cheers everyone.

[Seeker]

Hello.
Ah, a day with no clients (due to weather and illness - may everyone be safe, may everyone find wellness) which allows me to study all day, and even take a few moments to photograph.
Cory's "Arm..." chawan from yet another angle (love this chawan!).
The matcha today is the last of my Den's organic (good stuff - best organic matcha I've experienced so far, hands down).

(click to enlarge)
I raise my cup to you, and I bow to you in honor of our shared humanity.
Cheers.

[Seeker]

Hi.
Cory Lum "Gingko..." chawan and an unknown matcha that I received as a gift (mellow, and yummy in a soft, unassuming kind of way).
Warming:

matcha!

(click to enlarge)
Cheers.

[Victoria]

Wow, beautiful clarity!

[Seeker]

Thanks V!
Hope all is well with you.
I remember when I used to live down there and we had that big storm that flooded some of the freeways in the 90's; ever since the L.A. area goes on "STORMWATCH!".
That still the case?
Raining lots up here in the bay area.
Cheers.

[Victoria]

Yes we still have and are in "STORMWATCH". Which is normally a joke indeed; as you know it only take a little rain to trigger "Stormwatch". OMG we have to drive in rain, what will we do? But this time it's warranted. I have never seen it rain this hard, and tornado watches in local SoCal cities. I am fortunate that I don't live in an area subject to flooding or landslides. At work the roof is leaking in two places, it usually sustains.

Love your new avie!

[Seeker]

Woh - tornadoes are serious. We had a warning up here a couple of days ago too. (have to admit, I've always wanted to see one from a safe vantage ).
Thanks re: the new avie - it's bugging me tho how dark it is, so I will probably change it to something where more detail is visible.
May your roof at work hold! Stay dry!

[Seeker]

Okay, so I changed my avie again to something a little more visually interesting (i hope ) for such a small image.
Today, the mystery gift matcha again, in a Cory Lum chawan.

(click to enlarge)

Cheers, and ...back to the books!

[olivierco]

Nice picture (as always).
How much matcha and water do you use?

[Seeker]

Hi O,
Thank you for complimenting my photos, (I worry about them ) .
I prepare my matcha intuitively at this point, so I went and measured so I could give you an intelligible response.
I use 2-3 healthy chashaku scoops, which I then sift into my warmed and dried chawan. Gently I then add, today anyway, (after reading your post, I went and approximated amount in the photo, then poured into measuring cup to see ) approx 225ml ~ approx 3/4 cup.
I think that's pretty close to my daily matcha.
all the best to you.

[olivierco]

Thanks for the precisions.

I tend to use less water, in fact much less as I use about 100ml for the same quantity of matcha. So my chawan looks quite empty comparing to yours...

[Seeker]

You are making koicha?

I must admit, I have not yet tried koicha (may sound a little odd, but I think I'm a little afraid of koicha ).

I prepare usucha, which I like quite a lot.

Now that I've written this, I'm starting to think about koicha.
Hmmm...
(gonna have to be an Ippodo I think)

[olivierco]

You are making koicha?

I must admit, I have not yet tried koicha (may sound a little odd, but I think I'm a little afraid of koicha ).

I prepare usucha, which I like quite a lot.

Now that I've written this, I'm starting to think about koicha.

No it is usucha (at least my way of brewing it).
For koicha, I use from 4g to 8g of matcha and just enough water (I would say 40 to 80ml) to obtain the consistency of paint.

Don't be afraid of koicha: the only drawback is that you will have to reorder matcha more frequently.

A topic about koicha with some good advices from Chamekke (Tu nous manques!)
http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5248

[Seeker]

Oh yeah, I've heard that phrase before - 'consistency of paint' - I think that idea scares me...

yep, definitely scares me.