Our favorite matcha to pair with milk or high end confectionery creations. Why a different matcha or lattes? Well… like most things in life, match is not a one-size-fits-all all product. There are sooooo many beautiful matchas that fall on all ends of the matcha spectrum - but not many are specifically chosen to be paired milk.
For us, we love strong matcha with slight bitterness to cut through the richness of milk. There also minimal savoriness, eliminating any notes of “soup” in your latte, but enough umami and "matcha-y" flavor to keep you wanting more.
While technically this is a "ceremonial grade" matcha, here at AMI • MEI we think there is so much more to a matcha that whether or not it's "ceremonial". We also don't advertise this matcha as "ceremonial grade" because we would never use it in a ceremony. That sounds silly, but for ceremonial purposes we have much higher quality matcha available for purchase that would be more appropriate.
The Blend: Gokou, Komakage, Yabukita, Saemidori, Okumidori
The Method: 100% hand-cut (scissors)
The Harvest: First flush (Ichibancha)
The Origin: Kyoto, Japan
The Recipe: Use 3g of matcha powder and sift into bowl (if available, if you don't have a sifter it's perfectly fine). Add 2oz of room temperature or slightly hot water (not more than 160 degrees F) to the bowl and incorporate together into a smooth paste with a bamboo whisk. Add another 1oz of water and whisk vigorously for 30 seconds. Gently move your whisk along the top layer of foam for another 10 seconds. If you like sweetener, now would be the appropriate time to mix it into the matcha. Grab a cup. Fill this cup with ice and 5 oz of milk (any milk you'd like), then pour matcha right over . Stir to enjoy.
Lazy Girl Recipe: Scoop 1 teaspoon of powder into your mug. Dump in sweetener. Fill with 8 oz of milk and stir with a milk frother until smooth. Add ice if you want, or don't.
Notes On Cultivars
Cliffnotes for Cultivars in The Collection:
Yabukita - The most common cultivar in Japan. In fact 98% of tea (all tea, not just matcha) in Japan is made from the yabukita cultivar. It's consistent with public perception of what Japanese green tea "should" taste like. Safe pick if you're gifting this to someone and it's easy to enjoy.
Samidori- Generally delicate and sweet. On its own it feels like a creamy sweet pea dessert, but probably cannot stand up to milk and sweetener. A good choice if you like usucha or koicha.
Saemidori- Most buttery in texture and nutty in flavor. While we recommend the teas from this farm are enjoyed without milk, we know some of our customers cannot resist! ;) If you are looking for a fancy shmancy matcha latte, this is a great choice.
Hoshun- If you like gyokuro green tea, you will love this matcha. Hoshun was actually created for the production of gyokuro. Soft supple leaves with a sweet morning dew and wet grass taste. Hoshun is a newer cultivar bred for the changing environment in Kyoto, and is created from crossings of samidori (so you will see similar characteristics)
Tenmyo- This cultivar was also purposely bred in Kyoto in 1975 from samidori crossings to be more resistant to environmental factors like heat and blight.
Gokou- The gokou bred in this area produces a rich, edamame profile that makes it a great choice for a variety of uses (usucha, lattes, or koicha)
Ujihikari- This is my (Brittnee, co - founder) favorite of the bunch. It's rich and decadent with no bitterness. This cultivar is appropriately named "light of uji" for a good reason.
Zairai 100 Year - With the matcha BOOM in the recent years farms have been pulling our Zairai to keep up with the western taste profiles BUT Zairai is so important to the continuation of tea. While it cannot be traced to a specific cultivar, Zairai are blend of many cultivars that are harmoniously grown together from seed (as opposed to whips which are easier, BUT destroy biodiversity of plants). This Zairai comes from plants that are at least 100 years old and have been at Dejimaen since the farm's inception.
CARE & MAINTENANCE
To maintain the beauty and integrity of your purchase, we recommend treating it with care. Simple maintenance practices, such as gentle washing and proper storage, can effectively preserve the longevity of your favorites. We encourage you to refer to the care instructions included with each item, designed to help you keep your purchase in top condition.
SHIPPING & RETURNS
We strive to process and ship all orders in a timely manner, working diligently to ensure that your items are on their way to you as soon as possible. Need to return something? Just let us know.