May 25
Geoff’s Teaview Snapshot
 | " I will admit that my powdered tea exploration is in its infant stages, but I can't recommend it."
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Let me first start by saying: I didn't even know Koreans did matcha. I thought this was strictly a Japanese thing. However, if India can do a good oolong - or Africa a superb white tea - then I would be willing to believe that South Korea could pull off a powdered green tea. Further proof of this can be found in any Korean supermarket. They have powdered sencha to spare.Boulder Tea's Korean matcha marks the fourth or fifth matcha I've ever tried. In terms of taste-testing, I'm a novice to the art form. I'm not even sure I'm whisking the stuff correctly. Everything I learned, I garnered from the internet. Hardly a traditional tea prep school.
When I first opened the bag up, the first thing that hit me was how "ancient" the powder smelled. The batch was dark green, bordering on brown, and had a very old air about it. What little I knew of matcha was that the best were bright green. This was as dull a color as you could get.
I brewed 4 oz. of water at 170 F, took one teaspoon of the powder and whisked it with my bamboo chasen for thirty seconds. It frothed up quite nicely, producing the requisite foam, with no grainy clumps occupying the periphery of the liquor.
I took one swig...one...
I could barely keep it down. I'm not exactly sure what went wrong. I thought I'd acquired the taste for matcha, but the spoiled-spinachy profile was nigh on unpalatable. I had to plug my nose to finish the rest. That had never happened before.
On a second go-around, I did away with the whisk-and-bowl approach, instead opting for an ordinary cup of hot water and stirring the powder in. I then added some sugar. Make that a lot of sugar and a bit of creamer. By then it was drinkable, but it could hardly qualify as a tea at that point. More like a sweetened, green milk.
For those that require a less seaweed-like matcha mix - as is common with the Koicha-grade stuff - this might be up your alley. I will admit that my powdered tea exploration is in its infant stages, but I can't recommend it. This was more likely a disagreement of palate rather than production. I don't care for asparagus either. This was like liquid asparagus.
— To purchase Boulder Tea Korean Matcha, or for more specific information on ingredients or the story behind this particular blend, click here to go directly to the manufacturer's web site.
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Geoff Teaviews.com Reviewer » Read more about this reviewer on Geoff's profile page. » Find a list of recent posts by Geoff. |
May 25th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
Yeah, Boulder has a few really good teas in their line up, and a bunch of cheap south-east Asian imports which seem to be intended as novelty products.. This and their Lotus Leaf tea among them.
August 20th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
I had the same reaction. I’d already tried one of their Japanese Macchas which was pretty good, and was amazed at the difference.