How to Brew Matcha Tea?

October 25, 2022
Matcha Green Tea

matcha energy drink600 Coldbrew matcha. Really?

Really. We’ll talk about the pleasures of drinking icy-cold matcha in a second, but first: what do I mean by coldbrew?

Coldbrew matcha simply means matcha prepared with cold water; as with coldbrew coffee, the water for making coldbrew matcha is never heated; we use icy cold water to start. But unlike coldbrew coffee, coldbrew matcha doesn’t require any lengthy or complicated extraction technique. We simply add matcha to a water-bottle, large water-dispensing unit, or even five-gallon pony keg, add cold water, and shake the hell out of it. That’s enough to temporarily suspend the matcha particles in the cold water long enough to actually drink it. As with warm shots of matcha, It never fully dissolves, it simply suspends in water. If you leave it alone for a few hours, the undissolved matcha will eventually settle on the bottom of the vessel.

One can play with proportions of matcha to water but I’ve found that 1g of matcha (half teaspoon) to 8 ounces of cold water is just about right. If you like it thicker, use slightly more matcha.

Here’s the exact procedure:

1) Fill a 16 oz water bottle almost to the top with ice water (leave a little room to make shaking easier). You can use either icy-cold water without actual ice, or simply add ice cubes and water and let it get cold — either way works well. You can also use a mason jar, or any tall skinny jar with a lid.

2) Scoop 2g matcha (about a teaspoon) into the bottle, and shake hard! You’ll see billions of tiny bubbles start to float up and form a gorgeous crema on top. Let it sit for just a minute to allow the crema to build.

3) You’re done! You can drink it directly from the bottle or pour into smaller glasses.

You can also use a Vitamix or other powerful blender to prepare coldbrew matcha, especially if you like it slushy-cold. Simply add a small quantity of ice and use the 1g matcha to 8 ounces water formula, and blend thoroughly.

Note that coldbrew matcha isn’t “iced matcha” — iced matcha is typically matcha prepared with hot water, and then ice is added.

There’s nothing quite like coldbrew matcha on a hot day; it seems to go directly to the brain’s key satiation spots as it hits all the right notes. for thirst quenching. It also looks amazingly tantalizing in a tall glass!

The cool thing about coldbrew: you can brew any grade of matcha, and they all taste great. Drinking Blends 97, 99, and 100 in this form is an ethereal experience like no other. The 94 makes a beautiful coldbrew matcha; its ever-so-slight bitterness when prepared hot isn’t detectable at cold temperatures.

But the best part is that we’e specially formulated several new blends especially for coldbrewing. They are priced quite a bit lower than our hyperpremium blends because more of the tencha leaf is used, giving us larger quantities, hence the lower price. Also, because the freezing temperature of the water slightly numbs the palate and top of the tongue, we can get away with using larger leaves (as opposed to new-growth-only for our hyperpremiums), which would impart a slightly bitter quality if prepared hot. It’s simply not an issue — the coldbrew blends are quite sweet — when icewater is used. We’ve even found two organic blends that work well as coldbrew, which is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.

So if you’ve never tried coldbrew matcha, here’s your chance! If your experience is anything like mine, the delicious taste and delightlful health benefits will turn you into a daily drinker pretty quickly.

We’re also developing some single-serve packets of coldbrew that I hope to have up on the site by late fall, perfect for on-the-go use — just stick a few in your car, purse, backpack, or suitcase and empty one into any cold bottle of water and shake. Heaven on the road. Stay tuned for those!