Nicole Wilson
Tea Expert
Professional Achievements
- Winner, 2015 World Tea Award for Best Social Media Reach
- Winner, 2018 World Tea Award, Best Blog
Certifications & Organizations
- Member of the Tea Bloggers Roundtable and the Global Japanese Tea Association
- Pursuing a tea sommelier certification with the Tea and Herbal Association of Canada
Favorite Piece of Advice
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Forum Comments (3)
High-quality matcha should be shade-grown for approximately 4 weeks and made from the first spring harvest. Some companies might call this 'ceremonial grade,' but it's important to keep in mind that there is no standard definition for that term. For lattes, it is better to use slightly lower quality matcha because it will have a stronger taste that stands out better when milk is added. Matcha labeled as 'culinary grade' will do just fine for cooking and baking purposes. These will often be harvested during later seasons.
Kyoto is considered the birthplace of matcha. The matcha made there is sweet and creamy with pronounced umami. Matcha from Yame tends to be sweet and highly aromatic. Aichi matcha is balanced with a gentle bitterness, while Kagoshima's matcha is bold and rich. Shizuoka matcha is more grassy and astringent but refreshing.
These are some of my favorite matchas:
When you brew loose leaf tea, make sure you can effectively remove the leaves from the water. If the leaves are left in the water too long, they'll over-extract and make the taste more bitter. I recommend using an infuser basket, which is kind of like a strainer. They come in a lot of different forms, but they’re often made out of stainless steel or a mesh to allow you to catch the tea leaves without having lots of pieces of your cup.
The main advantage with loose leaf tea is that you have the ultimate control over how your tea tastes. With tea bags, they're pre-measured. You're not necessarily in control of how much tea you're using. Adjusting the amount of tea that you use helps you make your tea either stronger or milder. Also, loose-leaf tea tends to be higher quality than a lot of tea bags.
Matcha is a bit different than loose leaf tea because it's a powder. Rather than steeping it, you whisk it into the water. If I'm making a matcha latte, I usually reduce the amount of water I mix into the powder. That way, when I add the matcha mixture to the milk, it doesn't dilute the flavor and you can still taste the tea.
I also might use a little bit more tea than usual, just to make sure that you do get that full flavor in the latte.
Also, don't mix matcha into boiling water; use lower temperature water. Water that's too hot can make the drink taste bitter.
If you're whisking your matcha, it definitely can help a lot to sift the matcha through a strainer first. It helps break up the clumps.
Finally, when you whisk the matcha, make sure to do quick W motions with your wrist to get a really nice frothy texture on top.
Co-authored Articles (18)
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Use a Tea Infuser
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