Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Matcha and Japanese Tea Ceremony

I'm playing around with matcha tea these days. Matcha is powdered green tea, traditionally used in the Japanese tea ceremony. The color is incredible - very vibrant green. Here's how to make a cup of matcha.
http://www.matchaandmore.com/howtomake.htm
or
http://www.qualiteas.com/features/matchatea.html
(If you dont' have a bamboo whisk, you can use a wire one.)

Here's a great summary of the Japanese Tea Ceremony:
http://www.teamuse.com/article_001001.html
I particularly like the gesture of humility - stooping to enter the tea room.
















I had the great fortune to observe a Japanese Tea Ceremony in Albuquerque a few years ago. The instructor had studied under a tea master in Japan for a long time. She taught a class via SEED. If it's still being offered, it's worth attending!


2 comments:

John said...

Maybe 'matcha' could be a sherwin williams pain color? I made some matcha a few weeks ago, had to use a wire wisk and fork rather than the fany wooden thing. I still have some gin infusing with matcha in the freezer...awaiting my matcha martini...

Dr.Gray said...

Matcha would be a great paint color. Though they do already have green tea color and it looks nothing like green tea, its like a blue green.