![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia01tpOwueXC-Z6J6d_V7L04AGD463A4lynTSP0wfFL0-uJAetNOVQWHb8vAlQl2mZxqtNVC1PXi_vZG9J_CFUsq0G9bH6IVWSeOmPm94U2BNd6tLm1UKtcsohtPVYNcOtOJNXQ5VsnHQ/s400/can+of+matcha.jpg)
If I'd paid attention to the tea catalog, I wouldn't have been so surprised that this tea came in a tin.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgShhzXZg3IkEWgCNWbeOwCJb6m6n6n8H7S2Eso98jopcK2eVXWMzHirDH_YUhnGzaIkdEf9bFtXZZrLfAH55Db00dlYmSJDrmVTeeo_E78S2-19OO9hMc5RZ23v34M0Y-ixwM__cgdChk/s400/caution.jpg)
Anyone here read Japanese? I'm being cautioned about something, but what? On the other side of this little piece of paper is more Japanese text and a graphic of hands carefully opening the pull-tab can. I'll bet the Japanese lawyers made them do that.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeOD3ASNU1J8aylrrbMS03eG-mDD2dhsYwU63fBPUh4JLzKbkywqJTm-ARUkUWZ3y_oT1S8HrGq_41M2I0ot0o3RVwa4vLHjqTKa1azliRZdI6t0rYO9PteWB7trz7ZxeWGFSHn920otA/s400/bag.jpg)
So I *cautiously* opened the can so the powdered tea wouldn't spill all over the place. It didn't, because it's still in the bag!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgys3QxcKj9FB7UvY6jju7x3Zmx4wIf1UTSNE098LUtlux1XrPf0BI8PmJTucqIXtJq0XxYU2oA5ZqzzU5cIwRRpToVUMrNKHYI-aXKyB0sOAlFQbiWnymwHYw0YQWAbaT4DhmgtoHqcuQ/s400/half+a+teaspoon.jpg)
After opening the bag of Matcha, I carefully measured out just under half a teaspoon (the directions said half a teaspoon for 6 ounces of water, and my little tea-tasting glass is 5 ounces).
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN5g9v449k2z551JG1ukUlVZq0eevK5_QoFkf9S3ch_J68eCJvvl1D9hyphenhypheneG7WDz4N_BO7n9qJPyGTo4BF-RzjwsmdviIEr6S-pcnctx4KyJutNbrLTGv6l23rFoKT1bp9hT4w3gtx-9tA/s400/One.jpg)
My first "whisking" didn't result in too much foam, so I decided I'd probably done it wrong and tried again.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFg2oOuAdp-kOkf3j2r-Ue7tKHJ3-sjFSUB89bnBcdxPbE3Y-QgYTUoVCU7he3T4GlotjWsaRjCDArgddAscBRQfJEVZxlEb0l2sgDXiOtfo-0jsJRHKunuK7WaTcZCGLdkqjLoC3xNZA/s400/two.jpg)
Number two looked only slightly foamier, so I decided it was time to drink up and move on. Besides, this may be what "thin" Matcha looks like anyway!
* * *
I have to tell you, "Matcha Saturday" almost didn't happen! First, I realized late last Friday I had failed to place a new order with Harney and hurriedly went online to play catch up. Bless 'em, it arrived Wednesday, so I'm good for tea tastings for at least a few more months, Lord willing. Then yesterday, I realized I failed to order a Matcha whisk, and the local tea shop is out of Matcha whisks, but I read on the Internet you could use an ordinary wire whisk instead if you had to. (Later, when I read the book, Michael Harney said the same thing.) So I figured with my mini-wire whisk this Matcha process wouldn't exactly be "authentic," but at least I could give the Matcha a whirl. (So to speak.) I don't know how much of a difference it makes that I bought the cheaper thin grade rather than the more expensive thick grade of Matcha, but hey, I was trying to be economical!
Category: Japanese Green Tea
Purveyor: Harney & Sons
When purchased: May 2009
Appearance: A rather bright apple green powdered tea. I'd like a T-shirt this color.
Steeping temperature and time: Just under 1/2 teaspoon of tea, 175 degrees, 30 seconds (or however long it took to whisk the tea).
Scent: I had to force myself not to think about the powdery appearance, but when steeped I realized that oh, it smelled just like green tea.
Color: Deep olive green.
Flavor: I did not enjoy my first sip at all, as I "felt" the powder swirling around and the tea was too strong and bitter. But after a minute or so, once some of the powder settled in the bottom of the teacup, I sipped again and it tasted just like good green tea. Of course, I am going to *have* to get a Matcha whisk now and see if it makes any difference in the foam level. We won't call it a re-match but a re-Matcha! (Also, I want to try some recipes that use Matcha as an ingredient.)
Additional notes: Michael Harney tells of visiting a factory where Matcha is made and says he had to "don protective clothing as if heading into surgery. I even had to pause in an airlock where machines blew off from the protective clothing any particulate matter that might contaminate the powder."
Next week's tea: First of the oolongs, Wenshan BaoZhongAnd if, like me, you would enjoy seeing how someone who knows what they're doing prepares Matcha, check out
this brief video on YouTube!