How to Make Matcha: Usucha and Latte

You have powder, a bowl, and hot water, but your matcha still forms little clumps at the bottom? The whisk comes later. To make usucha, a lighter matcha prepared with water, use about 3/4 tsp (1.5 g) of powder and 1/4 cup (60 ml) of water at about 176°F (80°C). Sift the powder, mix it with a little of that water, then add the rest and whisk. A chasen, the bamboo whisk, gives the cup its fine foam.

Drink it without milk first. You'll notice the texture, sweetness, or bitterness of your powder before deciding what else to do with it. For a latte, add milk to the same base; a shaker will do if you don't yet have a chasen. Kura-ge sells bamboo whisks, but you can make your first cup before buying one.

Hot matcha made with water, without lumps

Making hot matcha takes three steps: sift, mix with a little water, then whisk. You drink the lighter version without milk. Depending on the concentration you want, usucha and koicha, a lighter tea and a thicker preparation, call for different techniques. We prefer Jade or Sérénité here; a powder chosen for baking will make a more assertive, less nuanced cup.

What you need for one cup

• About 3/4 tsp (1.5 g) matcha
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) water at about 176°F (80°C)
• A bowl wide enough for whisking and a chasen

The bamboo chashaku scoop helps you scoop out the powder. Weigh it if you want to make the same cup tomorrow. If you change the preparation, adjust the matcha amount per cup to suit it.

The method, step by step

1. Briefly dampen the chasen's tines in warm water.
2. In the bowl, sift the matcha to break up clumps.
3. Pour in a little water and mix to a smooth paste, then add the rest.
4. Whisk briskly back and forth in a W shape without crushing the tines against the bottom of the bowl.
5. Slow down near the surface to refine the foam, then drink it right away.

Taste this first cup as it is. Sugar soon masks the subtle notes you're trying to recognize. If the serving feels too small, add hot or cold water after whisking the base.

You can also stop before adding that water: a matcha shot still uses about 3/4 tsp (1.5 g) of matcha and the same sifting step, but less water. Mix and whisk it as you would usucha, then taste the concentrated base. For a truly thick texture, koicha matcha is prepared differently.

You can flavor hot matcha with raspberry, lemon and ginger, or lemon and honey. Always start with a smooth base. These additions change the cup without changing the water-based method described here.

A chasen in the bowl, a shaker in a pinch

The chasen and bowl, two tools for preparing matcha, let you watch the powder disperse and the foam form. Hold the whisk almost upright; your wrist draws the W, not your whole arm. For matcha served with water, we choose our Chasen Classique: you can feel the texture change under its tines and slow down at the right moment.

A shaker with a lid also disperses the powder, though it gives a different texture. Rinse it promptly after use. If you have neither a bowl nor a whisk in your kitchen, you can make matcha without a chasen and choose your tools later.

What if you want a hot or iced latte?

The smooth base works for both versions, but milk and ice change the balance. For the hot version, the matcha latte recipe gives the amounts and method with milk; a homemade iced matcha latte also accounts for dilution as the ice melts. We keep these preparations separate so each drink works as written.

Choosing between cow's milk and plant milk changes the texture of a matcha latte. If you want a cold drink without milk instead, iced matcha made in a shaker disperses the powder directly in cold water; iced Japanese leaf tea is steeped and strained.

If your matcha is bitter or lumpy

Water that's too hot makes bitterness more pronounced; the right temperature for matcha lets you taste the tea more clearly. Let the water cool before pouring, then taste before increasing the dose. If there are lumps, sift the powder again and mix it with a little water to make a smooth paste.

Change only one thing at a time: the water, the dose, or the movement. Bitterness in matcha has several possible causes. Milk won't fix them; in a latte, it only masks them.