Matcha 101:
6 Secrets to Making the Perfect Cup

I had my little bamboo whisk and a pretty ceramic bowl, so why was my matcha bitter and flat instead of frothy and sweet like it should be? I wanted the brilliant green color, subtle umami flavor, and almost-creamy texture (not to mention the purported health benefits) of this tea at its best. After taking tea ceremony lessons for a month in Japan—it always turned out delicious there—I still didn’t know how to make good matcha consistently (maybe because my grasp of the Japanese language is elementary at best).

When I brought home a tiny tin of high-grade matcha from Kyoto’s famous Ippodo tea shop, it whisked up frothy and sweet in seconds. That was the first and most important thing I needed to learn about making good matcha: high-quality tea is essential (later I’d learn that not only is it sweeter, but the tea leaves are ground finer). The culinary-grade stuff that I thought was a bargain was suitable for making sweets, but not for drinking straight.

To learn more, I visited Zach Mangan, cofounder and director of Kettl, at his small showroom in Brooklyn. Kettl works directly with farmers in Japan’s best tea-producing regions to distribute fine tea in America. We drank a lot of matcha together and talked about what you need —and don’t need—to prepare it at home. (Shortcut: Kettl sells a kit with everything you’ll want to get started, and so does Ippodo.)

Japanese tea ceremony revolves around the making and serving of matcha. It’s said to be the essence of hello and goodbye—a highly ritualized social interaction. Each gesture, from how to enter the room to how to clean the bowl when you finish, is choreographed, deliberate, and delicate. You don’t need to be that precise to enjoy matcha, but channeling just a little of the focus and grace of tea ceremony makes it more enjoyable to prepare and drink your tea.

1. Buy good matcha.
A puff of vibrant green powder with a sweet grassy aroma indicates that you’ve opened a good tin of matcha. But how do you choose one off the shelf? Don’t bother with matcha made anywhere but Japan. Look for a best-by date stamped somewhere on the packaging (if it doesn’t have one, they have something to hide, says Mangan). Tins are easy to serve from, but bags are okay too as long as they are opaque to protect the tea from light. Buy matcha in small batches that you can use quickly; like spices or coffee, it loses its potency once opened.

Matcha is expensive because growing, harvesting, and grinding the tea leaves into powder is a labor-intensive process (and then it has to get here from Japan). It might seem like a bargain, but you definitely don’t want to drink culinary-grade matcha (except maybe in a smoothie or sweetened latte). In the U.S., higher grades of matcha are often labeled as “ceremonial.” In Japan, they are categorized as usucha, for making thin tea (most likely the matcha you know), and koicha for making thick tea (more like the texture of a very rich hot chocolate, often an acquired taste).

2. Have the right (simple) equipment.
You don’t need all the fancy tools used for tea ceremony, but you do need a chasen (matcha whisk) and a bowl (not a mug or teacup). The swish swish sound of a bamboo whisk is part of the pleasure of perparing matcha, and there’s really no substitute for producing a smooth cup of tea with fine foam on top. A cheap one will run you $6 on Amazon or any Japanese grocery store, but for $25 you can get an elegant hand-crafted chasen that will last for years.

In tea ceremony, appreciation of the bowl is part of the ritual. For everyday use you don’t have to invest in a ceramic work-of-art, but you do need a vessel that allows plenty of room for whisking (and feels nice in your hands and on your lips). A big café-au-lait mug or a delicate soup bowl that you already have will do fine to get started. If you drink matcha often, treat yourself to a bowl that you will treasure.

3. Use hot water.
Even if you want to make iced matcha or a matcha latte, the tea will dissolve best in hot water (make it strong and dilute with ice or frothed milk). But matcha isn’t as tempermental as other teas, so Mangan assured me you don’t need a thermometer. Boil some water, then wait about a minute, or pour it into one of those nifty Japanese kettles with a very skinny spout (or a measuring cup, or anything else that will cool it off just a little). Before you begin making your tea, warm the bowl with a little hot water and then pat it dry.

4. Sift the tea.
You don’t have to sift the tea, but who likes green lumps sticking to their teeth? You can sift into the bowl each time, or sift all your matcha into its tin. All you need is a tea strainer and a spoon to help push it through (and a piece of paper to make a funnel if you’re sifting it into the tin).

5. Get the right ratio.
For most people, 2 grams powder to 70–80 grams water makes a pleasing cup. A scale might seem fussy, but it makes it almost effortless to get the perfect cup every time (you’ll find it turns baking and coffee-making foolproof too). If you really can’t be bothered with a scale, use 1 teaspoon matcha and 1/3 to 1/2 cup water.

6. Whisk vigorously.
Once the water and tea are in the bowl, whisk back and forth in a zig-zag with the chasen, lightly touching the bottom of the bowl. The motion should come from your wrist, but don’t be afraid to really go for it! When the tea is thoroughly mixed with the water and getting frothy, move the whisk almost to the surface of the tea to make lots of fine foam on the top, almost like the crema on an espresso. Run the whisk in a circle around the perimeter of the tea, admire your fine work, and then drink it right away.

Bonus: Serve with sweets.
Matcha is always served with a small sweet in Japan. Try it with a little square of chocolate or a tiny pastry—just a little sweetness to balance the tea and settle your stomach.

—Hannah Kirshner (March 31, 2016)
vogue.com/13421659/matcha-tea-how-to-secrets