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Today's matcha table....more Fukujuen fukamidori matcha, in Petr Novak's Flower of Forgetfulness chawan, on Mirka's tea tray...





I felt like I needed to make the most of these late-season goldenrod blooms, since I was robbing the bees at a time when there's not much blooming besides the buckwheats



I love the deep emerald of the matcha against the Flower....



And wahoo! I'm finally getting more foam, and it lasts now



Ye-olde photobomb cameo by Humboldt the cat



Good the last bubble!



Happy Matcha Holidays to you too!

Gorgeous pictures, beautiful session...

My matcha was in the Christmas panettone Happy Matcha Holiday too!

Elise and Debunix, Merry Christmas your posts are beautiful. Thank you.

Elise wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 26, 2017 1:01 am

My matcha was in the Christmas panettone

I suspect a lot of my previous problems with matcha related to getting something that might be better used in baking than as stand-alone drink. And now, pondering: should I acquire some more 'culinary grade' matcha and start experimenting with it? I know I don't want to use this very lovely Fukujuen version for cooking or baking....

debunix wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 26, 2017 10:01 am

I know I don't want to use this very lovely Fukujuen version for cooking or baking....

And you’re absolutely right. But within « cooking grade matcha » there are from
« really bad even for cooking » to « very drinkable » matchas. I’d go for the second type even if I still have a better one just for drinking

Do you have any suggestions for cooking-grade matcha?

I was about to add this one to my next order on matcha. I've not tried it before but all the matcha for both koicha and usucha that I tasted from this shop are truly top quality products.

Thanks for the tip.

I just started drinking matcha and experimenting with Uji no Sato and Kyo Mukashi (Maiko). Fortunately I like their cheapest offering from matcha too (Uji no Sato). Though it could be because it's new to me. Sometimes the Uji is sweeter than Kyo Mukashi. Somehow I can't prepare matcha consistently.
All I have is a Kujaku-yu chawan (Seigan Yamane) I bought from Zencha. Probably most people have seen it already.

Xeractha wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 05, 2018 4:40 am

I just started drinking matcha and experimenting with Uji no Sato and Kyo Mukashi (Maiko). Fortunately I like their cheapest offering from matcha too (Uji no Sato). Though it could be because it's new to me. Sometimes the Uji is sweeter than Kyo Mukashi. Somehow I can't prepare matcha consistently.
All I have is a Kujaku-yu chawan (Seigan Yamane) I bought from Zencha. Probably most people have seen it already.

I couldn't begin to get it right until I was preparing it under guidance a couple of times, and while I'm feeling better about it now, I feeli like it will be quite a while, making it a couple of times per week, before I can consistently get it right. But fortunately, now that I really like the matcha I am using, it's all good, even if not all consistent. And since I read your post before I started my tea day, I'll follow a couple of infusions of Yunnan purple beauty oolong with matcha from this Ericka O'Rourke Elm Studio chawan....

Koicha in a simple chawan given by Michikawa Shozo last summer <3

Is that a pool of koicha in the cup, or thick remains coating it after you've drunk it? Trying to figure out how really thick that is...so impressively deep emerald green!

Inspired by that lovely deep green, I tried matcha with two large scoops today, and it was a little too strong. For now, I think I should just envy the color and drink the lighter version. But who knows....a few months ago I couldn't cope with matcha at all, and who knows what might come next....

koicha is very thick, you have to wait it come to the lip of the chawan once you hold it up. It is originally supposed to be also a stomach filling break during zazen meditation.
When I make koicha, there is usually enough left in the bowl to finish it by usucha by just adding hot water and using the chasen to foam it up.

Not a lot of flowers in the winter garden today for the tea table vse, so poppy seedlings filled in....

Beautiful images Debunix. Thank you.