Ceremonial Matcha Tea (50g)

Ceremonial grade is made from the youngest leaves of the first harvest, stone-ground slowly enough that the powder stays fine and sweet. Culinary grade comes from later harvests and is deliberately more astringent so it can hold its own against milk and sugar in a latte or a cake. This is the ceremonial kind, which means it is worth drinking with nothing but water.

• Sift 1–2 grams (about half a teaspoon) into a wide bowl. Sifting is not fussiness — matcha clumps, and a clump will not whisk out.
• Add 60–70ml of water at 80°C. Boiling water scorches matcha and turns it bitter; if you have no thermometer, boil and wait two minutes.
• Whisk briskly in a W motion for 15–20 seconds, until a fine foam sits on top.
• Drink it soon after. Matcha is a suspension, not an infusion, so it settles.

For a latte, whisk the same way with half the water, then top with steamed milk.

Matcha fades in light, air and warmth faster than leaf tea. Keep the tin closed, somewhere cool and dark, and use it within a couple of months of opening — the colour dulling from vivid green towards olive is the sign it is past its best.