Matcha Men & Women

[Tead Off]

I'm very curious about the drinking habits of those who love matcha. How many bowls a day? Multiple bowls in one sitting? Morning? Afternoons? Evenings?

Let's hear it.

[olivierco]

I usually don't drink matcha daily but once a tin is opened I tend to finish it quickly.
I prefer to drink my matcha as koicha and I usually use about 6-7g of matcha at the time (a third of a tin of my usual wakamatsu no mukashi).
Most of the time I drink matcha in the afternoon, sometimes after dinner.

[Samovar]

I drink matcha twice a day. In the morning I make a matcha latte with mellon or vanilla syrup. In the evening I make the traditional matcha.

Samovar

[MASALACHAAAAIIIIII]

I would have it every day! Love kiri no mori from o-cha. I usually only have matcha once every two or three days, with two bowls as the norm. I like having it during the late afternoon, best time of day for some matcha to me.

[Victoria]

I usually only drink it on my days off, because I do not have all the tools with me at work, unless I bring it in. (Which I have done). In fact thinking about it now, I really should have a set up for it here at work, because for me it is a mid-morning to early afternoon thing due to the caffeine. I usually just have one bowl a day - 6oz.

[Tead Off]

The world of matcha is new and strange to me. I am primarily an Oolong drinker trying to understand your world. Yesterday, was the first time I've ever had matcha. It made me quite nauseous for half an hour or so. This was in the morning, before food. I believe the amount of matcha I used was a bit less than 2g to about 90ml of water, whisked in my Cory Lum chawan. I don't think it was the bowl that made me nauseous.

Today, I followed the same procedure but changed the bowl to an Oribe chawan. Nauseous again, but for less time. My wife also felt a little queasy. I am using Yuuki-cha organic powder. I'm wondering if others have felt this way at times and whether my body has been polluted by all the Chinese tea I've drunk and now is adjusting to the true elixir and needs to be purified?

One more thing about matcha. What is it that you are looking for in this brew? I can see a certain flavor/feeling in the mouth that one can get used to and crave, but, after all, can one really call this drink 'delicious'? How can it ever compare (I know, my mother told me never to compare) to great Chinese teas? Even great coffee? I think I like the equipment more than the tea if I'm honest with myself. In fact, I love the equipment.

Can anyone help this poor sinner?

[olivierco]

One more thing about matcha. What is it that you are looking for in this brew? I can see a certain flavor/feeling in the mouth that one can get used to and crave, but, after all, can one really call this drink 'delicious'? How can it ever compare (I know, my mother told me never to compare) to great Chinese teas? Even great coffee? I think I like the equipment more than the tea if I'm honest with myself. In fact, I love the equipment.

Can anyone help this poor sinner?

Matcha is matcha and tastes like matcha. Big help, I know.
The taste is quite the same in a gorgeous chawan than in a simple one for me anyway.
The proportions you used are OK. You didn't mention the temperature whoch I prefer to be around 70-75°C (165°F)
Maybe you should try to drink it later in the day. I usually don't drink matcha with an empty stomach.
I didn't taste the Yuuki-cha organic but I am sure some teachatters did.

[Dreamer]

One more thing about matcha. What is it that you are looking for in this brew? I can see a certain flavor/feeling in the mouth that one can get used to and crave, but, after all, can one really call this drink 'delicious'? How can it ever compare (I know, my mother told me never to compare) to great Chinese teas? Even great coffee? I think I like the equipment more than the tea if I'm honest with myself. In fact, I love the equipment.

Can anyone help this poor sinner?

You are too funny! Maybe you just don't like the taste. I LOVE it. Due to adrenal issues, I had been staying pretty much away from all tea for a while (one weak cup of some bag thing that my tea buddy at work would brew each day was pretty much it). I heard of matcha in the context of it being a healthful drink without a huge caffeine kick in the adrenals. I also heard that it had a sweet flavor. I was searching for a warm tea drink that I could enjoy without any added sweetening. I decided to try matcha. My first bowl was whisked with a small metal cooking whisk in a small mixing bowl....It was awesome from the first sip!!!

My family, on the other hand, will not give any green teas a chance because they say they don't "taste like tea"....they are not able (yet) to look at it as a different drink...or maybe they just don't like the taste!

I've read somewhere that you can shape your own tastes...after 13 times of tasting something you may develop a taste for it...so don't stop at just 12 bowls of matcha! And don't try to do this in a day or "you'd be higher than a kite"!

[hooksie]

Due to adrenal issues, I had been staying pretty much away from all tea...I heard of matcha in the context of it being a healthful drink without a huge caffeine kick in the adrenals.

Matcha isn't really known for low amounts of caffeine.

[clareandromeda]

Matcha has become a lovely ritual for me. On weekdays I drink it in the morning after breakfast in front of my full spectrum blue light (I have seasonal affective disorder) while listening to NPR. I would drink it more often but I'm usually not home till evening and I'm too sensitive to caffeine to drink it that hour. On weekends I sip it in the AM in front of my computer by my favorite window. I surf the net and glance over at my cute sleeping boyfriend and am happy I usually have 2 more before early afternoon.

If I worked from home Id sip it all morning, its so peaceful

[thirtysixbelow]

I just started drinking matcha and have had a bowl every morning since I got it. Still working on my technique, but it's an enjoyable experience. I don't think I can afford to go up to 2 per day if I still plan on drinking sencha somewhere in there too.

[Tead Off]

I am definitely NOT against this tea so please don't misunderstand me. My nausea with it is very real, though. This part I can't understand. No one else has had this experience?

I don't dislike the flavor and I like the ritual. But, I find it difficult to understand why anyone who knows Chinese tea and drinks it daily, would prefer matcha. It's sort of like sake compared to good wine. It's okay once in awhile, but to pay the same amount for a sake as a great vintage wine is unimaginable to anyone who has been exposed to both drinks.

[iannon]

..unless you like the taste of the great Sake better than the taste of the great wine? *I* dont prefer Sake..i would much rather have a nice vintage Port..but some people hate the taste of Port too. I guess to each his own right?

[Tead Off]

Then, there is something defective about the taster.

[TokyoB]

I am definitely NOT against this tea so please don't misunderstand me. My nausea with it is very real, though. This part I can't understand. No one else has had this experience?

I don't dislike the flavor and I like the ritual. But, I find it difficult to understand why anyone who knows Chinese tea and drinks it daily, would prefer matcha. It's sort of like sake compared to good wine. It's okay once in awhile, but to pay the same amount for a sake as a great vintage wine is unimaginable to anyone who has been exposed to both drinks.

Tead Off - I know how you feel to some degree. I feel that I would like to like matcha more but I just find it to be ok. I have had it in Japan a few times with a sweet and really liked it then but perhaps it was just the setting. I also find that sometimes Japanese green tea (including matcha) can sometimes bother my stomach - and that is always on a full stomach. I wouldn't dare try it on an empty stomach. Over the last couple of years I've found myself more and more drawn to Chinese and Taiwanese oolongs over Japanese teas. However this year I did the shincha thing and am really enjoying it. They are really quite good - if you like Chinese greens try the Saemidori from O-cha.

Anyway, I'm coming to understand that some people just like some types of teas better than others. I also like the tools and ritual of matcha but it still isn't my favorite tea. Of course others feel differently. Nothing wrong with any of this. Don't feel bad about having a personal preference for one thing over another. (Although I too feel guilty for not liking some teas sometimes!)