How is Matcha Supposed to be Prepared?
At The Be Tea Company, we believe that the correct way to prepare matcha is, of course, however you like it best! However, a matcha traditionalist may disagree. While using a metal whisk, an electronic frother, stirring with a spoon or shaking your matcha in a bottle are all valid ways to make delicious matcha and matcha lattes, learning the traditional matcha preparation methods can be a doorway to a deeper appreciation and understanding of matcha and the culture and history behind it.
In order to prepare matcha in a traditional method you will need a few of the traditional tools, a chawan, chasen, chashaku, furui, and a chasen kusenaoshi. Below, we'll go into detail into what each of these is and what you may be able to substitute with normal household items and still get the same experience.
Traditional Tools
Chawan
The chawan is a wide, deep, ceramic bowl for mixing your matcha into water. A good chawan not only gives you just the right amount of room to rapidly whisk the matcha by hand get a nice froth (if you are making usucha style, more on that later) but will also be comfortable to hold and drink from. In a traditional matcha ceremony the chawan will be passed from person to person. Each person takes a sip, wipes the rim and passes the chawan to the next guest.
While a good chawan is a great piece to add to your home, it can easily be replaced with any small bowl such as a rice bowl.
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Chasen
Most people will probably agree that the chasen is the most important tool for traditional matcha preparation. If you can only get one traditional tool, make it a chasen. The chasen is a bamboo whisk made from a single piece of bamboo split out into about 100 prongs, coming together into the handle at one end.
To use the chasen, whisk matcha and hot (around 170F) water rapidly in a "w" pattern inside your chawan. After the matcha has been prepped and enjoyed, care for your chasen by adding clean hot water to your chawan and whisking the water with the chasen, once all visible bits of matcha are gone from the chasen, leave the chasen to air dry.
Without a chasen a metal whisk or electronic frother can be used. In a normal coffee cup add your matcha and hot water then spin the whisk between both hands, just like trying to start a friction fire with a stick.
Chashaku
A chashaku is a long bamboo scoop for getting the right amount of matcha into your chawan for preparation. One scoop with a chashaku will be just about 1 gram of matcha powder. Most common matcha preparations will use two chashaku scoops for one preparation of matcha tea. To care for your chashaku, after matcha preparation, rinse the chashaku with clean water and let air dry.
This probably goes without saying, but if you do not have a chashaku, a regular metal spoon can be used as a substitute. The advantage you get with a chashaku is portion control, so be careful if using a regular spoon to keep the serving to the desired proportions.
Furui
A furui is a sifter. Typically higher grade matcha powders will be finer powders than lower grade ceremonials or culinary powders. That said, even the finest matcha powders may develop small clumps due to static electricity. To overcome this and make your matcha easier to whisk, a furui or sifter can help get rid of those clumps of matcha. Use your chashaku to put matcha powder into the furui above the chawan, then use the bottom of the chashaku to push the matcha through the furui into the chawan. We find it's helpful to already have some water in your chawan before scooping in the matcha powder. This should result in a very fine powdered matcha in your chawan, ready to whisk and enjoy.
It isn't totally necessary to sift your matcha into a finer powder, but it will make the rest of the preparation a bit easier, the finer powder will suspend more easily in water and require a bit less whisking. In the event you don't have any sort of sifter available, just prepare for a bit more vigorous whisking to get your desired result.
Chasen Kusenaoshi
A chasen kusenaoshi is a storage utensil for a chasen. It is shaped in a way which enables a dried chasen to maintain its proper shape when not in use. A properly cared for chasen, cleaned and stored properly should last a very long time. It's hard to find a substitute for the chasen kusenaoshi which will perform the job as well but you may have some luck with a shot glass. With no other options, we recommend storing your dried chasen upside down, handle facing downward with the whisk prongs facing up while you, of course, wait for your chasen kusenaoshi to arrive.
Matcha Preparations
Traditionally, there are two different preparation methods and results for matcha: Usucha, or thin tea, and Koicha, or thick tea. The steps are essentially the same, the difference lies in the proportion of matcha powder and hot water around 175F (~80C). With either Usucha or Koicha, the same tools listed above are employed. Matcha is sifted through a furui into the chawan then whisked with the chasen; the methods are the same, the results, however are quite different.
Usucha
Usucha is the most common preparation of matcha. It is much more forgiving to lower qualities of the matcha and results in a much more approachable flavor and overall matcha drinking experience. This method is recommended for most preparations, whether you'll drink the matcha straight from the chawan or intend to prepare a latte or matcha cappuccino.
This preparation method uses about 1 to 2 grams of matcha powder (1-2 scoops with a chashaku) with 3-4 ounces of water. The exact proportions you utilize will depend heavily on the quality of matcha you're using and the desired experience you are looking for. The fun in learning these methods is that you have room to hone your senses and instincts for matcha tea preparation.
During Usucha matcha preparations you can get a nice layer of foam at the top of your matcha in the chawan after rapidly whisking the mixture for about 20 seconds. Getting the foamy result will depend on the characteristics of your matcha powder and in fact some schools of thought in traditional matcha like to avoid producing any foam all together. Foam or no foam, it's important not to over-whisk your matcha as that could effect the flavor profile.
Once your done whisking, your matcha is ready to enjoy straight or add water (hot or cold), ice, milk, or whatever you desire.
Koicha
Koicha is a much less forgiving preparation method than Usucha. Koicha results in a very bold matcha flavor and demands the highest quality matcha powders to result in an enjoyable experience. Using two to four times as much matcha at around 4 grams (about 4 scoops with a chashaku) and much less water, sometimes as little as one ounce, there is no hiding any characteristics of the matcha powder when this preparation method is used for drinking straight from the chawan.
In Koicha preparation, the thick mixture is made with slower whisking than the Usucha method. With the slower whisking and thicker matcha, you won't get the nice foamy crema which most people normally enjoy seeing in their chawan. Instead, you will end up with a thick concoction, more similar in viscosity to warm honey than the matcha most people are used to. Another ounce or so of hot water is then added to the Koicha to increase the viscosity slightly for drinking.
While Koicha is typically reserved for only the finest matchas and most intense matcha ceremonies, the Koicha preparation can also be used to make syrup-like matcha out of high grade confectionary matcha for desserts like we did when making a matcha affogato pictured below.
