“Do you want anything from Japan?  [Insert name here of family friend] is going in October, so get your orders in now.”

Requesting a sample of the entire food produce of Japan seemed like a tall order, so I settled for a matcha whisk. Lo and behold, I’m now the proud owner of a proper (and rather expensive) matcha whisk and bowl. Now to find out how to use it.

Serendipitously, David from JING Tea had offered to host a matcha-making demostration, so one blustery tube-strike-ridden evening, we convened at Tsuru Bankside, along with Su-Lin from Tamarind and Thyme for some matcha madness.
So, how do you make matcha? Well, first you work the matcha into a loose paste with a splash of water until the lumps go away. Add more water, then go crazy with the whisk until you get that lovely froth. Or: you can watch thisvideo by JING Tea and read all about it here. Let’s just say, it’s harder than it looks.

I ended up with a less-than-creamy, large-bubbled froth. Tip: for a better foam, don’t use as much water.

Taste-wise? Wow. The matcha was sweet and thick, without the bitter edge you find in some matcha (including the one I tasted at the tea ceremony at the British Museum). I’ve ordered a packet to see if makes a difference in desserts — well, you know what they say about wine and cooking. Results pending.

 

Genmaicha

We also tasted some of JING Tea’s other samples: a toasty nutty Genmaicha (green tea with toasted brown rice kernels), cosy comforting Hojicha (a low-caffeine roasted green tea), cute-as-buttons Jasmine Pearls (apparently one of their biggest sellers), and some ‘very special’ hand-rolled umami-rich Gyokuro. For those who like their teas in limited edition, apparently only 20kg of this particular tea is made each year, and JING Tea have bought 2kg of it. The umami taste was subtle but noticeable, coating the mouth with an unusual feel for a tea. Is it worth the price? At £12 for a 10g bag, it’s not cheap, but it’s still cheaper per cup than a daily Starbucks. [There's also another (presumably not hand-rolled?) Gyokuro on their website for around half the price.]

We rounded off the evening with some of my (hastily made) home-made matcha cream profiteroles. The matcha in the whipped cream really took the edge of the heaviness — hence our ability to get through most of a full tupperware. Unfortunately, though possessing many other positive properties, matcha doesn’t seem to negate calories. Shame.

All in all, tasting tea is a lot like tasting wine — the mouth-feel, the taste notes (a hint of smoke, roasted nuts, fruit?), and the feeling that my palate is severely under-developed. Thankfully, my liver and I have absolutely no qualms in consuming copious amounts of tea to rectify this.

Time for a cuppa.

Thanks to David at JING Tea and Tsuru Bankside for a great tea-filled evening.