I like to think that I have matured in many ways over the years, and when it comes to food, one of the many evolutions in my palate has been my appreciation of bitter flavors. I’ve learned to appreciate the edge imparted by ingredients like broccoli rabe and radicchio. And also: matcha.
Matcha is a Japanese green tea that has been around for centuries, explains Emilie Holmes in “Good & Proper Tea.” Once the young tea leaves are harvested, they are dried and ground into a fine powder. As part of a Japanese tea ceremony, matcha “is traditionally prepared using a bamboo whisk with just hot water, then drunk from a chawan or tea bowl, allowing you to sip tea while breathing in its fresh aroma,” Holmes writes. “Prepared in this traditional way, matcha should be smooth and creamy, striking a perfect balance between sweet and savory.”
There was a time in the not-so-distant past when anything with a matcha flavor would have sent me running in the other direction. Part of this is probably because I’ve had at least one drink from a major chain where I could have sworn someone mistook wasabi powder for matcha. And there’s also the unchecked temptation to add cloying amounts of sugar and excess fat to matcha-flavored foods to counteract its bitterness and give it broader appeal. Additionally, there is simply a lot of poor quality matcha out there.
But when used sparingly and intelligently, matcha adds an alluring green hue and just the right touch of bitterness and refreshing to a variety of dishes, including baked goods and drinks. Here are some options from our archives.
