My local Marukai Wholesale Mart recently had a sale on
all things matcha. Matcha? Is that some local Hawaiian
product? No, matcha is basically
green tea leaves that are refined to the nth degree. For starters, the plants
that produce matcha aren’t cultivated
like your basic green tea plants (Camellia
sinensis) but they are shaded from direct sunlight for about 3 weeks
leading up to the harvest so that the plants upregulate their production of
chlorophyll which results in darker green leaves. This shade grown tea also
increases its production of amino acids, specifically theanine. Once absorbed
by the intestinal tract, theanine is hydrolyzed to glutamate – yes, the same
glutamate that’s associated with the umami
taste sensation. Only the youngest leaves are harvested with the ribs and veins
removed further refining the tea leaves go into the production of matcha. And unlike your basic green tea
leaves that are either packaged in tea bags or loose leaf tea, matcha is powdered so you simply wisk it
into hot water for your final beverage.
Is this matcha
the same tea in my canned tea or Lipton tea bags? Not even by a long shot. The
finely powdered matcha is usually
reserved for formal Japanese tea ceremonies where it is whipped with a bamboo wisk
or chasen and served alongside a
traditional Japanese sweet or wagashi.
You do occasionally find matcha used
in a fancy cocktail mainly to obtain that vivid green hue… or so I thought.
I Scream, You
Scream…
Beyond tea ceremonies and the occasional libation, I
never was aware that matcha was found
in so many other products… namely sweets especially since it does have a
slightly bitter edge – well, it is tea. So naturally, I had to purchase some of
these sweets just to see what all the fuss over matcha laced products was and whether they actually tasted good…
So in the name of science, I selected several items just
so you don’t have to elevate your blood sugar or possibly suffer any culinary
PTSD – Post Taste Stress Disorder.
Noko Ujimatcha
Brownie
The unmistakable nose of green tea with a pleasing
balance of sweet and tea bitterness with little chocolate nibs. The crunchy
chocolate bits helped balance the unmistakable green tea flavors.
Matcha Caramel
Just a hint of green tea flavor that could be overlooked
in a blind tasting.
Oreo Bits Sandwiches
Overwhelmed by the chocolate cookie – no real discernable
tea flavor other than the traditional Oreo chocolate flavor.
Otona Pakkuncho Koi
Matcha
Crispy, bite sized cookies with great green tea flavor within.
A very nice light cookie with balanced green tea flavors.
Elise Uji Matcha
Cream Wafers
Though these are all green, the initial cookie crunch is
just like your average flaky wafer but the crème filling eventually gives you
that green tea flavor.
Pocky Kasane matcha
Green tea flavor all the way. Like a light pretzel coated
in green tea!
Assorted Matcha
Doraku
Three different sweets though while all three had that
green hue, there wasn’t much green tea flavor in all three sweets other than
the Crunch wafer.
Oreo Chocolate Bar Mini Arabiki Matcha
A light hint of green tea but mostly just a crispy cookie
texture that’s ok but hardly any green tea flavor.
Milky Gyokuroiri
Matcha
Like a green tea caramel. Matcha all the way!
So that was a load of matcha
and while some of it was actually very good – the Mrs and I agreed that the
brownie and the Doraku crunch wafer were the best of all the sweets due to
their balanced flavors - but there has
to be more to matcha than just
desserts or a vivid green hue that it imparts to food.
The Bay Area’s own Chef Daniel Patterson of Alta, Aster,
Coi, PB and Haven had this recipe highlighted in Bon Appetit magazine several
years ago using matcha as part of a
topping for baked halibut. Since halibut hardly is seen in the 50th,
I used another local firm white fleshed fish, the wahoo or ono (which tanslates to delicious in Hawaiian).
Chef Daniel
Patterson’s Matcha &
Pistachio-Crusted Halibut
1/2 cup raw unsalted pistachios
1 & 1/2 teaspoons matcha
powder
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons dry breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted, plus more for
parchment paper
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
4 5-ounce skinless Pacific halibut fillets or other
firm-fleshed white fish
Grind toasted pistachios, matcha, and sugar in a food processor until the nuts are coarsely
chopped, about 15 seconds. Add breadcrumbs, melted butter, and lemon zest;
process until combined (but not a paste), about 10 seconds. Season topping to
taste with salt and pepper.
Salt and pepper fish then top with ¼ of the nut mixture
and bake at 400 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.
Finally, though I occasionally enjoy a nice cup of
freshly brewed green tea including tea from powdered matcha, I also enjoy adult libations as well and this is one of my
standby libations at Hawaii’s own MW Restaurant run by the husband and wife
team of Chefs Wade Ueoka and Michelle Karr-Ueoka. A bit of acid, a bit of
earthiness with sake and soju to awaken the palate for the
impending feast…
Nagai Shima
Matcha Green
Tea, Kai Lemongrass Shochu, Tyku Soju, Tyku Sake, Fresh Squeezed Lemon, Shiso
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