Good demonstration of koicha! I realized I make a "koicha" when I make usucha, as I find that forming a paste first helps to mix the powder more evenly before you begin whisking it.
Excited to try making koicha at home! I wonder if the poetic names of matcha can be further discussed on--I've always been curious on the shiro, the mukashi, etc. of each name!
Now that's a interesting topic with multiple conflicting answers! Currently, it seems there are no real guidelines for these names. Some blenders might use 'shiro' for usucha and 'mukashi' for koicha, but that's not consistent. One theory is that Mukashi referred to teas harvested on the 21 days surrounding the 88th night of spring (starting from Risshun) as the kanji for mukashi (昔) contains the characters for 21 (廿一 ) and day (日). Shiro (white) is thought to refer to the steaming method (the normal method) of producing tencha, and this term began being used to distinguish this from the Ao (blue) method of lye-boiling tencha invented by Furuta Oribe in the early 1600s (no one uses this method anymore). Kobori Enshu named the highest quality 'white' method tea 'Hatsu-mukashi' (which is a name still commonly seen today) and the highest grade 'blue' method tencha 'Ato-mukashi' Hope this answers some questions (but it probably only prompted more!)
Thank you. As I have been enjoying tea ceremony for three years and done my extensive research, your video still delivers a lot of knowledge about matcha to me.
These intro videos to different aspects of japanese tea drinking are really interesting and so accessible. I always look forward to new videos. I'd love to see David introduce chawans in the future.
Thank you for sharing! I made koicha for the first time following these tips. It turned out nicely and surprised me by how creamy and delicious it is. After preparing it the room got the most delicious scent, better than candles.
I do like tea quite a lot, even if I do slightly prefer coffee, but I want to say, it makes me quite happy, that you used scales instead of going by feeling, which is quite common in tea content. While it sure does work, scales tend to make things so much more repeatable. Also, I have a question: can matcha be ground at home? From what I had found online, it seems like it is not quite so easy?
I'm all for using scales, especially with finicky things. Being able to adjust and adapt by feel only comes from plenty of experience with how things are supposed to be, which you can achieve with scales!
2:57 please we need this,, i've had enough of seeing very low quality (by that, i mean the color is nearly brown oh my god) matcha powders with "ceremonial grade" labels on them.
Here I used an old Timemore Black Mirror scale, but I've recently started using a smaller one from an aliexpress brand called Fuego. (you can see it in the cold brew video)
This is tough as I still haven't found one that's quite right. If you don't need a gooseneck spout (which I use for coffee) then the one by OXO is pretty decent (they also have a gooseneck version). If you only need certain preset temperatures (and not fine control to the degree) the cosori kettles work well
Of the blended matcha, Uji-no-Mori, Shōyō, and Uta-no-Mori are great for koicha. From the single cultivar range, Uji Hikari, Samidori, and Yame Saemidori are ideal
I would love to hear more about the different tea bowl shapes and the history of the tea whisk holder as well would be brilliant.
I'll do my best! Chawan are some of my favourite things to talk about, so I'll probably make many many videos about them
Good demonstration of koicha! I realized I make a "koicha" when I make usucha, as I find that forming a paste first helps to mix the powder more evenly before you begin whisking it.
Excited to try making koicha at home! I wonder if the poetic names of matcha can be further discussed on--I've always been curious on the shiro, the mukashi, etc. of each name!
Now that's a interesting topic with multiple conflicting answers! Currently, it seems there are no real guidelines for these names. Some blenders might use 'shiro' for usucha and 'mukashi' for koicha, but that's not consistent.
One theory is that Mukashi referred to teas harvested on the 21 days surrounding the 88th night of spring (starting from Risshun) as the kanji for mukashi (昔) contains the characters for 21 (廿一 ) and day (日).
Shiro (white) is thought to refer to the steaming method (the normal method) of producing tencha, and this term began being used to distinguish this from the Ao (blue) method of lye-boiling tencha invented by Furuta Oribe in the early 1600s (no one uses this method anymore). Kobori Enshu named the highest quality 'white' method tea 'Hatsu-mukashi' (which is a name still commonly seen today) and the highest grade 'blue' method tencha 'Ato-mukashi'
Hope this answers some questions (but it probably only prompted more!)
Thank you. As I have been enjoying tea ceremony for three years and done my extensive research, your video still delivers a lot of knowledge about matcha to me.
These intro videos to different aspects of japanese tea drinking are really interesting and so accessible. I always look forward to new videos. I'd love to see David introduce chawans in the future.
Thanks for the kind comment! I'll be bringing more chawan vids for sure
Thanks so much for the explanation, I like koicha the best because (don't hate me) I'm too lazy to make foamy usucha
Great video. Thank you!
Thank you for sharing! I made koicha for the first time following these tips. It turned out nicely and surprised me by how creamy and delicious it is. After preparing it the room got the most delicious scent, better than candles.
Ah yes! I forgot to mention the explosion of aroma that happens when hot water meets that much matcha
A very informative video...thanks!
I do like tea quite a lot, even if I do slightly prefer coffee, but I want to say, it makes me quite happy, that you used scales instead of going by feeling, which is quite common in tea content.
While it sure does work, scales tend to make things so much more repeatable.
Also, I have a question: can matcha be ground at home? From what I had found online, it seems like it is not quite so easy?
I'm all for using scales, especially with finicky things. Being able to adjust and adapt by feel only comes from plenty of experience with how things are supposed to be, which you can achieve with scales!
You are fascinating, thank you for existing, and for making me even more passionate about matcha.
2:57 please we need this,, i've had enough of seeing very low quality (by that, i mean the color is nearly brown oh my god) matcha powders with "ceremonial grade" labels on them.
Switching to green tea and matcha from coffee has really helped my anxiety. Are you also into specialty coffee or is tea your main drink?
I'm also into specialty coffee! My current daily method is a V60 switch. I wonder how it'd work with tea....
What is the scale for weight that you're using in this video btw? :)
Here I used an old Timemore Black Mirror scale, but I've recently started using a smaller one from an aliexpress brand called Fuego. (you can see it in the cold brew video)
Could you recommend a kettle with temperature control?
This is tough as I still haven't found one that's quite right. If you don't need a gooseneck spout (which I use for coffee) then the one by OXO is pretty decent (they also have a gooseneck version). If you only need certain preset temperatures (and not fine control to the degree) the cosori kettles work well
What matcha from the range you sell do you recommend for koicha?
Of the blended matcha, Uji-no-Mori, Shōyō, and Uta-no-Mori are great for koicha. From the single cultivar range, Uji Hikari, Samidori, and Yame Saemidori are ideal