matcha instead
For several months now, I've been drinking matcha green tea every day instead of English breakfast tea or coffee. Each morning I take out a small bowl (chawan), a matcha whisk (chasen), and measure out a heaped spoonful of the tea powder with a bamboo scoop (chashaku). I add a drop of cold water to the powder and stir slowly with the whisk, moving in a circle, to make a dark green paste. Then, I add around half a cup of hot water (at 80 degrees) and whisk quickly in a zigzag motion until the matcha has frothed up into a thick foam. I'm left with maybe five or six sips of bright green tea in happy little bubbles. I drink it quickly because it's always at its most delicious whilst it's still hot.
The ritual is over in just a few minutes. But, although brief, I find it to be a much more refreshing experience than making and drinking English tea. There are more steps in the preparation of matcha than making breakfast tea using a teabag, and more care is required. When mixing the matcha with cold water, I have to be careful to make sure all of the powder is mixed into the paste so that it will foam properly when whisked. Too much hot water will also prevent the tea from foaming up and dilutes the flavour. There is a technique to whisking the tea once the hot water has been added to the bowl - it requires the right movement and the right speed to produce a good foam, and each kind of matcha responds a little differently. Once the tea has been made, it must be drunk at once, which encourages the drinker to give their full attention to the taste and texture of the liquor.
All in all, these requirements mean that the tea-maker cannot enjoy his or her bowl of matcha without considerable presence of mind. It has become a moment of slowness in my day that I look forward to. Quite different from the cup of coffee that fuels more pace, or the rushed dunking of a teabag in a heavy mug.
I like to drink my matcha by the window, in the light.