I’ve had this random single-serving packet of matcha that I got in some trade or other kicking around in my cupboard for awhile. I eventually figured out, based on the pictures, that this came from Rishi so I followed their hot matcha preparation recipe on their website which called for using 4-5 oz of 75°C water per packet of tea.
Let me say right away that this makes for a very concentrated cup of matcha. It was so bitter and grassy that I added a bunch of water after the fact. So in the end it was probably more like 6+ oz of water. Even with the extra water the tea in my bowl still looked murky and thick – I did manage to get it to froth up nicely even with my dinky little metal wisk, which thrilled me. But it kept its harsh, grassy flavour which made drinking it feel more like eating broccoli or something else that you know is ‘good for you’ but that you’re not really thrilled to be eating. Despite all my wisking it also left quite a lot of gritty residue at the bottom of the bowl which made the last few sips kind of nasty.
I find I’m not really impressed with Rishi’s take on this classic Japanese tea – I’ve cerainly had much better plain matcha prepared for me when I was in Vancouver. This matcha is better off used to make lattes or mixed into smoothies, in my opinion, rather than prepared the traditional way.
While I prefer using a good matcha for my smoothies… I agree. This is not one of them.