T2 Matcha Masterclass, Chatswood

Over the past few months, T2 has been heavily promoting their new matcha powder range (which are sadly quite exy) so when I received an email from the T2 Tea Society advertising their matcha masterclasses, I jumped at the opportunity to check out their products first hand.

Outside of T2 Chatswood Store

Tea Display

For their masterclass, the T2 branch at Chatswood effectively closed their shop early and prepared a range of food and drink samples that showcased their matcha range:

Vanilla Matcha White Choc-Coated Strawberries

Genmaicha Matcha Popcorn

Matcha Choc Chunkies Biscuits
(these were awesome)

Samples of Matcha Lattes

Iced Matcha Drinks

Taking a Bite

Matcha Whisk Flask; Chasen

Matcha Making Setup

T2 currently offers several types of matcha powders, including:

• Standard Range:
• 100% certified organic matcha
• Choc matcha
• Cinnamon matcha
• Limited Edition:
• Organic turmeric matcha
• Organic vanilla matcha
• Organic genmaicha (roasted rice) matcha
• Mint matcha

Matcha Tea Options from T2

In order to create matcha powder, green tea plants are generally grown covered in tarp to enhance flavour and maintain colour. The leaves are harvested by hand, dried and then ground for over an hour to produce the fine powder that you can buy.

When preparing matcha, make sure that you use water at 70-80°c - if the water is too hot, you will burn the matcha and it will acquire a distinct bitter flavour.

To prepare matcha using ceremonial/traditional methods:

1. Place the chasen (matcha whisk) in hot water to soften the whisk.
2. Swirl hot water in the matcha bowl for about 10 seconds to warm the bowl. Dispose of water.
3. Add 1/4-1/2 teaspoon (or 1-2 scoops with special matcha spoon) of matcha powder into bowl.





Adding Matcha Powder to Chasen



4. Add up to 100ml of hot water (70-80°c) to the matcha bowl - the amount of water will vary based on the matcha powder and personal drinking preference.
5. Use the chasen to whisk the matcha quickly (in a 'M' movement to coagulate the powder in water) until a thin layer of foam appears on top of the liquid (small bubbles are ideal).





Whisking Matcha



Joint Whisking



6. Drink the matcha as is, or mix with honey and non-cow milk (otherwise you won't be able to absorb the green tea antioxidants properly).





Matcha!

The all-rounder favourite was the cinnamon matcha, which tasted good as a latte, but my personal favourite was the genmaicha, as it incorporates roasted rice and therefore has this fabulous aroma.

In my opinion, the T2 matcha flasks ($38!) are not worth it - the samples that I tried (pure matcha mixed with water; a matcha latte with soy milk and honey) still had small lumps of green tea floating around and lacked the unique smooth taste of matcha that had been quickly whisked in the bowl. I guess it works if you're on-the-go but seriously, real matcha requires time and patience to prepare... and you'll be greatly rewarded with a smooth matcha drink.

We also got to sample two fresh batches of blended matcha drinks - I personally was not a fan of these as the flavours were weird and one sample was overpowered by chunks of ginger.

Matcha in Blended Drinks

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T2 products do look very pretty but also comes with a hefty price tag (e.g. their matcha bowls cost $80-100) and therefore I went online to search for cheaper alternatives. Matcha bowls can be purchased online from a measly $20 but can extend into the hundreds of dollars for artisan bowls used in traditional tea ceremonies. However, as a newbie, I wasn't that eager to drop that much of my hard-earned moolah into something that I may use on occasion for fun.

Hence I set out to the local Daiso store to check for matcha tools and came home with a massive haul of teacups, matcha bowls, chasen and small bowls/plates - most of the items were $2.80 each, except for the chasen, which costs $12 each:

Matcha Tools from Daiso and Japan City

I wasn't able to find any long tea scoops in the tea/kitchenware sections of Daiso so I ended up getting some tea scoops from Japan City for ~$5 each, including a 10% discount if you join as a member (for free). Daiso also doesn't stock any chasen naoshi (matcha whisk holders) so I might need to source these online.

As for the matcha powder, I also wasn't eager to pay T2 prices ($28-$32 for 30g - relatively standard pricing for good quality ceremonial matcha) and hence I sourced my stash from elsewhere. There are ample options out there like ZenWonder or LoveTea but I settled for the Japanese-certified-organic matcha powder ($24.95 for 70g) by Matcha Maiden. However, I will probably use this powder more for culinary purposes, rather than for pure matcha drinking, as it lacks the distinct vibrant green colour.

Matcha Latte
(made with condensed milk + water so it's a little pale)

Cheers to happy matcha drinking!

Update - Jan 2018:

During a recent trip to Tokyo, Japan, I splurged on a massive 100g tin of ceremonial-grade matcha powder (¥9000, including 8% consumption tax):

Matcha Powder

After a failed first attempt in Sapporo/Asahikawa, it had been my trip mission to purchase some quality matcha powder and I finally hit the jackpot whilst strolling through Ginza (i.e. Tokyo's premier shopping and dining district). The retail staff at the Matsuya department store probably thought I was absolute bonkers buying such a large tin (which equates to 50 cups worth) but the matcha sample that I tried in store wasn't like anything I'd ever had before - there was none of the usual bitterness that you would normally associate with matcha and it was soooo smooth.

Portion of Matcha Powder

The matcha powder has such a vibrant colour, which was also evident in the final result:

Matcha Tea
(I need to practice my whisking 😅)

Words cannot express the difference...