How to prepare matcha?

Prepared matcha with a Japanese sweet. Wikimedia Commons.
I've been a fan of Japanese food and tea since I was 8, but I've never had matcha except in cookies and things. One of these days I've gotta get myself some matcha and a proper tea whisk and see if I can make it properly!

So what is matcha anyway? The region around Kyoto, Japan, is the most important region for the growing and production of matcha, which is made from gyokuro tea leaves that have been steamed before drying, and retain their fresh green color, vegetal flavor and aroma. The tea is also grown differently, kept in the shade just before harvesting. According to In Pursuit of Tea: “The vibrant green color in matcha comes from careful cultivation. Tea plants are covered with mats several weeks prior to harvest, making it difficult for them to receive nutrients. In this struggle, the plant produces more chlorophyll and its leaves become supple.” The tea leaves are de-veined and ground into powder between two stones, before being packaged for sale.

Traditional Japanese preparation of matcha can involve the beautiful and meditative Japanese tea ceremony, or a modified technique more suited to everyday life. The modernized way to make a cup of matcha calls for a few more tools than are necessary for standard tea-making: a fine wire strainer, a small bowl, and a small whisk. The normal kettle, tea cup and tea spoon are perfectly fine for matcha, although it ads to the ambiance to use real Japanese ones. Matcha powder is whisked into hot water until it is frothy, and the tea leaf powder is left in the cup, to be consumed with the liquor. Since the entire tea leaf is ingested, matcha provides a higher level of Vitamin C and antioxidants than the standard tea infusion does. Here is the simplified way to prepare matcha:

Fill the kettle with fresh water and bring it almost to the boil, or bring the water to the boil, and then pour it into an empty teapot and let it sit for a minute or two. Set the wire strainer over the bowl and measure two teaspoons of matcha powder into it, then sift the matcha into the bowl. Measure one heaping teaspoon of sifted matcha and add it to the empty teacup (put the rest in an airtight container for later). Fill the teacup about ¾ of the way with hot water. Use the whisk to break up the clumps of matcha powder, then use rapid back-and-forth motions to whisk the matcha into the water and make it frothy. When the surface of the matcha is covered with froth, drink and enjoy!

For a different experience, why not try adding some matcha powder to a vanilla milkshake, sprinkling it over some vanilla or chocolate ice cream, or working it into a batch of shortbread dough? You’ll have a delicious new treat!

“Japanese tea from San Jose’s Japantown”
“Tea tasting 101: characteristics of good quality green tea”
“Matcha magic: the health benefits of green tea”
In Pursuit of Tea newsletter and website
“Matcha Green Tea – What is it?” Youtube video
“How to prepare matcha” YouTube video
Japanese tea ceremony YouTube video
another Japanese Tea Ceremony video on YouTube
Tea ceremony put on by teachers in Shizuoka
Casual home-style Japanese tea ceremony

Gifts fit for a tea-drinker!

Loose and bagged tea. FreeDigitalPhotos.com
Tea is becoming more and more popular these days, whether for its health benefits, its traditions, or just the range of flavors available from this one beverage. American tea-lovers have a wide variety of teas and tea equipment to choose from when purchasing for themselves or others. Some of the following items are available in grocery stores, craft stores and specialty shops in many areas of the country, but if none of these are for sale where you are, they can be purchased over the Internet. Here are some suggestions:

Good quality loose-leaf or bagged tea.
A nice tea mug or cup and saucer.
A new teapot.
An electric tea kettle.
A nice decanter or pitcher for iced tea.
A tea cozy, tea strainer, tea filter bags or other everyday tea equipment.
A piece of nice silverware for the tea table, like sugar tongs, tea tray, cream spoon, berry spoon, or dessert server. (Thrift stores can be great sources for old silverplate items at low prices!)
Gourmet food items for the tea party pantry. This can include packaged foods made with tea, or foods to be eaten with tea. Even something like a bar of good chocolate goes well with tea!
A nice cloth tablecloth or other tea party-appropriate linens.
A book about tea. This can include cookbooks for food to eat with tea, or tea history books, or even tea murder mysteries!
Music that can be played at a tea party.
Jewelry or other accessories with a tea theme.

Any other suggestions?

“Mother’s Day gifts for the tea-loving San Jose mom”
“Where to find tea filter bags in San Jose”
“Where to buy Chinese tea in the San Jose area”
“10 wonderful, affordable ideas for Christmas gifts, using tea”
"What should I keep in my tea party pantry?"
“Chocolate and tea: the perfect match?”
“Which foods go well with tea?”

Lovely lemon pound cake.

Meyer lemon and thyme pound cakes.
I love having a Meyer lemon tree in the backyard, because it gives me lots of lemons to use in making lemon curd, lemonade, and in this interesting pound cake. I originally saw the recipe in the April 2009 issue of Victoria magazine, and decided to make it for a tea party this weekend. Since my birthday is also this weekend, and the recipe makes two cakes, it will also serve as my birthday cake!

The recipe is unlike traditional pound cakes because it has buttermilk and baking powder in it, which should lighten the texture a bit. I couldn't make the recipe as directed, however, because I don't have a mixer, so I don't know exactly how my hand-mixing has affected the cakes. They look flatter than other pound cakes, so I suspect that the extra leavening didn't compensate for my arms that could beat the batter only so much before giving out! The cakes smell good, and the batter tasted good when I tasted it, so I think my tea friends will like them anyway.

Meyer Lemon and Thyme Pound Cake
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 T. Meyer lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup fresh Meyer lemon zest
2 T. chopped fresh thyme
4 eggs

1 recipe Meyer Lemon Glaze

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Put oven rack in the center of the oven. Grease and flour two loaf pans, line the bottoms with parchment, and grease the parchment. In a large bowl, combine the flours, baking powder and salt, sift three times and set aside. In a separate bowl [I used a measuring cup] combine the buttermilk, lemon juice and vanilla and set aside. In a separate large bowl, using an electric mixer at high speed, beat the butter for 1 minute, or until soft and creamy. Slowly add the sugar, zest and thyme, then increase the speed again and beat the mixture for 10 minutes or until very light and creamy. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry (flour) and liquid (buttermilk) mixtures alternately to the butter mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 40 minutes; then cover the pans with tinfoil and bake for an additional 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Transfer pans to a wire rack, and cool cakes in pans for 10 minutes. Carefully remove cakes from pans, and spoon Meyer Lemon Glaze over the tops. Cool completely before serving. Makes 2 loaves.

Meyer Lemon Glaze
1/2 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped out

In a small bowl, whisk together the juice, sugar and vanilla bean seeds until smooth. Use immediately.

Alterations I made to the recipe: I couldn't find regular cake flour, so I used Gold Medal Wondra Sauce and Gravy flour. It seemed to be grittier than the regular flour, so I wonder how or if that will affect the texture of the cake. I substituted regular milk plus a tablespoon of lemon juice for the buttermilk, which I didn't have. Also, I only had 3 eggs, so I added a teaspoon or so of oil and water in place of the 4th egg. I didn't put the full 2 tablespoons of thyme into the batter, because my bunch of thyme was, largely dried out and I could only get a little more than 1 tablespoon that looked nice and fresh. When making the glaze, I used vanilla extract for the vanilla bean seeds, and only had 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar to use, so my glaze turned out too thin. But other than the above, I made the recipe exactly as instructed, and it looks and smells great! It will go nicely with some Phoenix oolong tea that I have.

Another Victorian-inspired recipe: rose petal jam tarts.

Rose petal jam tarts with vanilla gelato!
Sometimes it is fun to include unusual treats on your tea table. If you like to have garden party teas or tea picnics at public or private gardens, why not try including some floral ingredients in putting together your menu?

Rose petal jam can be purchased at specialty stores like Middle Eastern groceries, Whole Foods, and sometimes Trader Joe’s. It can be spread on cream scones, melted and drizzled on pound cake or fresh fruit, or incorporated into wonderful sweets like the tarts in the following recipe.


Rose Jam Tartlets with Cream Topping

1/2 recipe Pâte Brisée or pie crust
1 cup rose petal jam
1 egg
1 tbl orange zest
for topping:
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup mascarpone
2-3 tbl sugar
1 tsp each orange flower water and rose water
1/4 cup finely chopped pistachios

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prepare the crust and fit it into mini-muffin cups or tartlette pans.
2. Stir together jam, egg, and orange zest and fill tartlettes. Bake 10-15 minutes, until set. Let cool thoroughly on a rack.
3. Meanwhile, use an electric mixer to beat together cream and mascarpone until they hold stiff peaks. Beat in the sugar, flower water, and two tablespoons of the pistachios. Before serving, dollop cream over tartlettes. Sprinkle the remaining two tablespoons pistachios over the top of the tartlettes.
-- from Desert Candy blog post "Morning of Roses"

The South Bay Ladies’ Tea Guild recently enjoyed a variation of the above recipe at their May meeting. The San Jose variation used frozen pie crust instead of homemade pate brisée, and lightened the rose petal jam with a bit of strawberry jam and farmer’s market fresh cherries. The recipe’s mascarpone cream toping with pistachios was replaced by purchased clotted cream, but vanilla gelato can also be used. This made a sweet, floral and fruity dessert, perfect for a spring or summer tea party!

Antiques Roadshow in San Jose to be shown tonght!

ca. 1851 grand pianoforte. Image from AntiqueClipArt.com.
The first hour of Antiques Roadshow, taped during their stop in San Jose, CA in August 2009, will air on KTEH tonight! Check it out at 9 p.m. and see the Winchester Mystery House. Next week they will air the second hour, featuring the Thomas & Carmel Fallon House, and the week after that will bring the third hour of their visit to San Jose, featuring Stanford University. Check out the broadcast schedule to find the actual dates and times.

Just another reason to watch Antiques Roadshow!

Making rose jelly for tea.

image from Lisa's Garden Clipart.
I was recently given a bunch of organic roses from my friend's garden. Hers are old heirloom roses that are really fragrant, as well as beautiful, and I didn't want to waste them when the petals started to fall. I picked the petals, washed them, dried them, and then made some rose water with them. I used the infusion method (pack rose petals in a clean glass jar, cover with boiling water, let sit until water has taken all the color from the rose petals and the petals are white) to make some surprisingly red rose water, but it's not distilled so I need a better way of preserving it. I have some rose petal jam, but I don't know if I like the texture, so I'll be trying to make rose jelly with the rose water. This is the kind of jelly that you spread on toast, not molded gelatin-dessert jelly ... I think it will make an unusual and delicious tea-table item and if it works well with rose petals I think I'll pick some orange blossoms from our tree and try to make orange blossom jelly! Here's a recipe that I'm thinking of using:

"Rose jelly (or orange blossom jelly!)
Basic flower jelly recipe - can also be used for other herbs

2 cups flower infusion: steep 2+ cups moderately packed flowers in 2 cups boiling water at least 30 minutes
1/4 cup lemon juice (E. Toley says not to use bottled, but I do)
4 cups sugar
3 oz of liquid pectin (this will be 1/2 box of liquid Certo)

Bring first 3 ingredients to a boil you can't stir down. Add pectin and boil 2 minutes. Ladle into hot sterile jars. Seal in preferred manner.

Note (Bess Haile): I prefer the liquid certo to the powdered. It seems to jell better with flowers. Also, I find the extra minute of boiling helps to create a stiffer jelly, though 1 minute will create a clear jam-like texture. I always use the 4 oz canning jars because I can give away some of the jellies without running out of all my stock. Not everyone likes jelly from flowers. My own family HATES rose jelly which is one of my favorites. Also, note, rose petals have a bitter white bit where the petals join the flower. Cut these off. I do this by holding the flower, step up, and cutting around the flower, leaving all the bitter bits on the flower. I've used Rose, Honeysuckle, Lavender, and many herbs too. Rosemary makes a good jelly for a glaze on roast pork (and probably lamb). Lemon verbena and spearmint are great too!"
-- from bhaile.leo.vsla.edu (Bess Haile), on Henriette’s Herbal Homepage

I've made fruit jams and lemon curd, but not jelly. Has anyone made rose jelly before? Any tips to share?

Cat Rescue tea party a success!

one of the parlor guest tables at the tea party.
Well, I'm pretty much recovered from our tea party fundraiser from last weekend. I got away with not taking home too many leftovers, so the tea sandwiches are finished and I only have a little bit of sour cream, some chopped onions and some sandwich bread to use up. Mother's Day is coming up, and I always cook for my mom on Mother's Day, so it shouldn't be too hard to use up the tea food.

In any case, we served 33 people on Saturday and 39 on Sunday, had no major catastrophes (although we came close when the tea urns caused the kitchen electrical circuit to break!) and received lots of great comments from the guests. We also raised about $4,500 for the 13th Street Cats! We'll see how many veterinary bills that will pay for; always on the lookout for needy cats, they took in another one on Sunday, just as the tea was ending! This cat has kind owners who can't pay for its medical care, so 13th Street Cats is going to take the cat to the vet and pay for its exam and medication.

The catnip "cigars" for sale!

All in all, another great event; you can see some photos from both days here. Enjoy!

13th Street Cats website
"Support 13th Street Cats by attending the Cat Rescue Tea Party!"