Matcha brewing... Tradition or necessity?

[TheMixer]

Hi, I have been drinking matcha for a while now, but I always just dumped some low grade stuff in a coffee cup, added hot water, and stirred.

I began enjoying it so much that I bought the proper tools in the way of the starter kit from Ippodo (awesome, by the way).

So for a few weeks now, I have been brewing it like everyone says to without question. But, it takes a good 10 minutes to do! When I am going for work in the morning, I don't always have time! I was thinking about it, and it really seems like some of these steps are arbitrary and can be removed. So I ask you: are they just tradition, or do they actually serve some sort of purpose?

-Why do the chawan and whisk have to be preheated? I understand the bamboo needs to soften and the bowl needs to be warm, but would this happen when you put the hot water in WITH the matcha?

-Is there any particular reason the matcha has to go in before the water?

I mean, it seems to me you could put hot water in the chawan, and let it sit for 5 minutes. This will warm up the chawan and cool down the water. Add some matcha, whisk, and drink!

As of now, I heat water, put in chawan with whisk, sit, dump water, dry chawan, put in matcha, make more hot water, add water, whisk, drink.

It seems like this preparation can be cut in half if you alter a few steps. My traditional side wants to keep doing it the traditional way, but my logical side says, "is this really necessary?!"

Thoughts?

[TheMixer]

Oh, while we are here... any opinions on O-cha matcha? I love Ippodo tea, but it costs like $25 for 20g of matcha.

Whereas this one:

O-Cha Uji Matcha "Kiri no Mori"

Is only $16 for 110 grams!

Is it any good, though?

Any other sites you guys recommend?

Moderator edit: Link removed, please read forum rules regarding new members and posting links. Thanks you.
Chip
Tea drinker who happens to moderate.

[Victoria]

Hi and welcome! Well much of it is tradition, but for a reason.
I believe most of the steps are to keep the powder from clumping.

I have not pre-heated the bowl and things were fine.
I have not moistened the whisk and things were fine.
But I've not tried the complete shortcut.

I would say, if you are pressed for time; try it.
It might be worth it to you for one less than perfect bowl to find out.

We all develop our own personal style over time.

[Victoria]

The O-Cha matchas I have had were very, very good.
The one you linked to I have, but have not opened it yet.

My current favorite is Den's Matcha Miyabi.
I will let you know how they compare
this weekend!

More matcha discussion:

http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?t=9387

[twinofmunin]

Careful -- the o-cha matcha you linked is 110 grams *shipping weight*, but 30 grams of actual matcha.

I have not tried the o-cha matcha in question, but I also have not tried any of Ippodo's. I have tried three of o-cha's matchas, though, and liked them, and from reading the forums here, all of their matchas are likely acceptable to excellent. I have some Ippodo matcha on the way; their matcha seems well-regarded on the forums as well.

I don't know how much of the ritualistic bits are strictly necessary to produce a delicious substance; I personally find it calming to go through the steps with care. As noted above, of course, personal styles.

[TheMixer]

Oh, thanks. I never would caught that!

Are any of these 100g bags decent?

Yuuki-Cha organic matcha.

Basically, I need to buy at least 50g at a time. I drink matcha sometimes 3+ times in a day, so I can't keep ordering 20g cans every week. I also can't really justify spending $100 a month on tea. Haha.

I mean, are they at least good enough for daily drinking? I'd be cool having a 100g bag as a backup, then just purchasing nice cans every now and then.

Moderator edit: Link removed, please read forum rules regarding new members and posting links. Thanks you.
Chip
Tea drinker who happens to moderate.

[Dreamer]

Maybe you can just optimize the process a bit.

Fill your kettle right before bed.
When you arrive to the kitchen in the morning,
- Flip on your hot water faucet.
- Turn on your pre-filled kettle.
- Fill your chawan with hot water from the faucet and pop the whisk in it.
- When the kettle sounds close, remove the whisk from your chawan, flick
it a bit over the sink to remove the water, empty the chawan (down the drain), dry the chawan, scoop the matcha, and pour your water from the kettle. whisk and you're ready.

The "long pole" here becomes the time it takes to heat your water.

I find when I'm in a hurry matcha is the most efficient tea...no steep time!!!

By the way o-cha's Kiri no Mori is great!

MMMMMMM matcha,
Dreamer

[fmoreira272]

Are any of these 100g bags decent?

Yuuki-Cha organic matcha.

I cannot speak for the bags themselves but im in my second can of Yame Matcha from Yuuki and I really like it. i started having matcha more than once a day since it taste so good...They just came out with their shincha matcha and at $32/100gr seems like a good deal.
Before i was drinking DoMatcha (about $16/30gr on amazon)
it might not be the tastiest matcha around but it includes free and fast shipping.

[TaiPing Hou Kui]

I have to agree with most of the posts here.........I am an avid matcha drinker.....and really only drink Japanese greens all together, so I suppose this is one of my areas of expertise........as far as your questions go about the "steps" for a perfect bowl of matcha, I would say some steps are completely tradition but others are necessary and have a purpose. Do it think it is necessary to have a chagama (traditional japanese water heating furnace for the tea ceremony)??No, but obviously, it is necessary to have a source of hot water, etc. Victoria is spot on about adding the matcha before the water.....CLUMPING.....the same reason why you would sift flour into a bowl while making a batch of cookies before adding eggs, milk, etc......you would get an OK cookie, but it wouldnt be as smooth, chewy, etc.....If I had to give you a recipe for "quick" matcha.....I suppose the only short cut I would take would be to boil water.....have some excess......heat the chawan with some water (while softening your chasen) and keep anothe batch of water cooling in a yuzamashi (or some other vessel to allow the water to cool)......also, pouring water back and forth between two vessels can drastically decrease the amount of time it takes water to cool down rather than just leaving it in one vessel.......wait till your water has reached the proper temp, then follow the normal steps of adding your sifted matcha and your proper temperature water. I personally feel that with any tea, other than perhaps cold brewed tea, you are never going to get as good of a cup as you would if you really took your time...crossed all your "T's" and dotted all your "I's".....but you could get a pretty good cup......personally most of the matcha that I buy, well, most of my jap. greens, are very expensive and I would not waste a gram if I dont have the time to really pay attention......when Im on the go I usually just cold brew......anyway, I hope this helps a little! Good luck!

-Nick

[chamekke]

TheMixer, I agree with the points already made about the benefits of preheating the bowl, adding the matcha prior to the hot water, etc.

However - you ask why not "put hot water in the chawan, and let it sit for 5 minutes. This will warm up the chawan and cool down the water. Add some matcha, whisk, and drink!"

Personally, I think that very often the best way to understand a rule is to see what happens when you break it. Why don't you experiment in the way you've described, and let us know what you think of the result?

[clareandromeda]

When I first started making matcha I was annoyed by the process. The more I pre heated and whisked the more I started to enjoy the ritual. I now really cherish those few minutes when Im forced to slow down and focus. The rest of the morning I'm getting dressed, eating breakfast and packing my bag at the same time! A well made cup of matcha is worth enjoying. I used to sip the matcha while eating breakfast but now I just sip and sit. Sometimes a few moments of calm are what you need before a super busy day!

[xuancheng]

I think preheating the whisk may be most important in increasing the lifespan of the bamboo its made from.

You could make matcha even more efficient by putting a couple scoops in a portable water bottle, adding water (hot or cold) and shaking vigorously. Then you could drink it while running out the door.

The idea came from
mattchasblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/travel-tea.html

[TheMixer]

I think preheating the whisk may be most important in increasing the lifespan of the bamboo its made from.

You could make matcha even more efficient by putting a couple scoops in a portable water bottle, adding water (hot or cold) and shaking vigorously. Then you could drink it while running out the door.

The idea came from
mattchasblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/travel-tea.html

I always figured you could make matcha in cold water since it isn't really "brewing," but I've never tried it.

Does it still have all the same health benefits and stuff with cold water?

[Oni]

http://www.marukyu-koyamaen.co.jp/engli ... accha.html ,
This matcha preparation guide shows that there are alternatives for preparing matcha the traditional way, you can use any not preheated bowl, use a spoon, balance out your prefered light tea matcha to water ratio and use a cappucino frother, those small electric ones, as long as you find an average price vs quality matcha that you drink everyday, it is not compulsory to hold a ceremony for it, but when you buy an expencieve koicha, you do not drink every day and you want to get the best out of your tea than you need to take the necesery steps.

[TEAcipes]

Hi Mixer,

Most of these Matcha rituals are part of Buddhism - ritualizing and putting effort into every single step helps to 'purify your insides' in better words. But most of the steps have a reason.
By heating the whisk and letting it :soak:, you soften the bamboo and prevent your whisk from breaking. Bamboo shards in tea = not good.
Matcha goes in before the water to prevent a mess during the ceremonial seating (clumping, dust flying, all sorts of mess).

To tell you the truth, if I'm drinking Matcha just for drinking, I dump everything into the cup and use a personal latte mixer (battery operated!). If my mom caught me doing that, she would probably kill me (mom used to teach Sado when she lived in Japan). But sometimes I do it the traditional way to calm my nerves down.