Help! My Matcha Won't Foam! Whisking, Troubleshooting & Tips
Having trouble making your matcha at home? Matcha isn't hard per se, but it is a bit particular: there's a few key things to know if you want it to turn out well.
So if you want a nice foamy matcha that tastes good too, try these tips!
tip #1: Rinse bowl and bamboo whisk with hot water first
This simple step can make a huge difference. When you rinse your bamboo whisk in water, it becomes more pliant and is ready to work as soon as you start using it.
Rinsing your matcha accessories with hot water warms them up and helps maintain the right temperature for your matcha. We need heat when making matcha because it allows the matcha powder to dissolve in water.
tip #2: Use hot water: 175 - 185 degrees F
We recommend an initial temperature of 175 degrees to avoid creating any bitterness in your matcha. However you can try bumping it up to 185 degrees, which helps the matcha dissolve more easily and avoid clumping. *Never use boiling water, which is way too hot to extract the ideal green tea flavors. It will simply give you bland, bitter tea.
tip #3: Sift matcha into your bowl
Likewise, sifting increases the ability of matcha powder to disperse and avoid clumping.
tip #4: Practicing your whisk technique: whisk close to the surface
You can stir the bottom once or twice to get the matcha off the bottom, but then whisk close to the surface. There are lots of different techniques, such as moving in a W or figure eight motion, but we find the easiest is to move quickly move whisk back and forth with a simple wrist motion. The most important thing is to keep it light and close to the surface to introduce air —which makes foam. You should only need to whisk for about 30 seconds or so. Whisking longer does not necessarily yield more foam!
tip #5: Use 2 - 4 tablespoons of water
We recommend using 2 to 4 teaspoons, or ⅛ to ¼ cup, of hot water initially to whisk your matcha and create a nice foam. Once you're done whisking, you can top it off with more water and/or milk. If you're having trouble while using less water, aim for 1/4 cup of water.
tip #6: You should only need about 2 grams, though you can use 1 to 4 grams.
It depends on how much matcha you are making, but 2 grams, or 1 level teaspoon should be plenty for one serving. If you are making a small 6 oz cup of matcha, you’ll only need 1 gram. If you want to make an extra large matcha latte, well you can double up the matcha and use 2 teaspoons. Water carries flavor a little better than milk; sweetener also brings out flavors, so there’s a range of favors and preferences. Play around with your ratios. Most importantly, make it how you like!
tip #7: Don’t fret if it’s not turning out well.
It takes a few tries to get the hang of using a bamboo whisk. Even if you don’t get the foam quite right, it will still taste good (as long as you don’t use boiling water!) You can also give it a quick buzz with an electric frother while you’re still learning.
How to Make Matcha Tea Taste Good?
Does your matcha tea not taste how you think it should? Remember the following: use proper ratios (tip #6 above) and don't use water that's too hot (tip #2). If you're still having trouble getting your matcha tea to taste good, then perhaps it's the matcha powder itself. That leads us to the final tip:
tip #8: Don’t forget to use a high quality matcha!
We recommend our premium matcha powder, a ceremonial grade green tea that’s lush and lively with hints of umami and sweetness. This tea is freshly ground from handpicked tea leaves in one of Japan's premier matcha tea growing regions, Kagoshima. Every batch is tested for nutrient, chemical and caffeine levels to ensure your matcha powder is clean of contaminants and packed with healthy antixoidants to power you through your day.
