HOW TO MAKE MATCHA. PROPERLY.

Here's exactly how we make it, and how to get the same cup at home.

GREAT MATCHA ISN'T COMPLICATED

It just needs a few things done right. High quality powder, water that's never boiling, and thirty seconds with a whisk. Skip one, and you get the clumpy, bitter cup that put you off matcha in the first place.

What you'll need

4 tools: a bamboo whisk (chasen), a bowl (chawan), a sieve, and a scoop (chashaku).

If you only buy one, buy the bamboo whisk. Its hundred-odd bamboo tines are the only thing that breaks matcha down into that silky microfoam.

A metal whisk won't do it.

A spoon definitely won't.

And the thing that matters most: good matcha. First flush, from Japan, stone milled. Ours comes straight from farms in Uji and Kagoshima — because no technique on earth can save bad powder.

GET THE MATCHA SET
Step 1

Sift your matcha

Sift 3g of matcha through a sieve into your bowl. Matcha clumps. That's just what it does. Don't skip it.

Step 2

Get your water temperature right

This is the step that ruins most matcha. Boiling water scorches the delicate leaf and makes even great matcha taste harsh and bitter. No thermometer? Boil your kettle, then let it sit for two to three minutes before pouring.

Add about 35ml of room temp water and mix it into a thick paste.

Step 3

Whisk in a "W" motion

Add the remaining 35ml at 75°C. Hold the bowl steady with one hand and whisk briskly in a zigzag W or M shape - not a circular stir - for 15 to 20 seconds.

Keep your wrist loose and the whisk just off the bottom of the bowl. You're aerating the matcha, and you'll see it transform into a vibrant green with a fine layer of foam on top.

That microfoam is the sign of a properly whisked bowl.

Step 4

Drink it, or build on it

ip it straight - that's usucha, the traditional serve. Or pour it over ice with your favourite plant milk for a latte. If you want it sweeter, keep it real: maple or honey works best.

Or skip the washing up - come visit us at The Powerscourt Townhouse, Dublin.

One last thing:

Storage

Matcha is fragile. Light, heat, air and moisture all destroy its colour and flavour, so keep it sealed airtight in the fridge and use it within a month or two of opening.

If your matcha has faded from vibrant green to dull khaki, it's past its best — and no technique will bring it back.

NOW YOU KNOW HOW. TIME TO GET THE MATCHA.