Hi.
Welcome to my blog. I hope you will join me for a cup of tea!
Welcome to my blog. I hope you will join me for a cup of tea!
All tagged matcha green tea
What is mindfulness? Being present in the moment, enjoying the beauty of little things, being intentional with one’s thoughts and actions are all things tea lovers can easily teach themselves by cultivating a tea ritual. Over the next 10 weeks join me for a “Tea and Mindfulness Series” for tea lovers on the blog. My goal is to inspire you and get inspired for my future tea endeavors.
Self-care is about figuring out what makes us feel good and practicing it consistently. By gifting tea you can help someone discover their own self-care ritual or you can give it to yourself and carve out some time to feel good! Let me walk you through some tea gift ideas and how to create the perfect tea gift set for self-care.
These pancakes are shockingly easy to make and they pack a ton of matcha flavor. Gone are the days of tasteless matcha-flavored stuff! Did I mention they are dairy-free and low in sugar? I don’t like my pancake batter too sweet because you’re going to drizzle maple syrup on top anyway, right? The secret to fluffy pancakes every time is not a secret at all, my dear matcha loving friends! Whip egg whites to stiff peaks and fold gently into the batter and voila! Enjoy! Recipe right this way.
The original recipe for matcha poached eggs is attributed to the author of the cookbook The Breakaway Cook and founder of Breakaway Matcha, Eric Gower. I came across it after falling down an internet rabbit hole and being the curious squirrel that I am, I had to try it out and see what all the hype is about.
Let’s face it, most of us are more or less openly obsessed with matcha. Personally, I’ve learned to embrace my matcha obsession and even though my go-to is traditionally whisked, I’m always on the lookout for good flavor combinations with matcha and especially for matcha-based beverages that are naturally sweet.
This year I celebrated my birthday in New York City. I had not been in NYC in 4 years and back then “tea tourism” was not as high on my list of priorities as it is now. After a long weekend of celebrations and sightseeing, I carved out some time for tea-related things. NYC has a high concentration of tea spots, so it was not easy to prioritize. Luckily, I had sent out a message to my NYC tea friends and fellow tea bloggers beforehand and I was looking forward to meeting them in person and to their tea recommendations.
Last Saturday I attended the grand opening of Stonemill Matcha Cafe, the newest addition to the San Francisco tea scene. Keep reading if you’re curious about my first impressions and pictures. Right this way —>
Why do we love matcha so much? Personally, I love its color, sweetness, cocoa butter notes, hints of freshly cut grass (even better if there’s some umami taste), rich persistent foam and creamy mouthfeel. Honestly, I’ve been wanting to take it to the next level of tea geekness for a while. Unexpectedly, I found an intriguing method for matcha evaluation on the Kettl Tea blog (*). When I managed to find and get my hands on 2 single-cultivar matcha, the stars aligned. I had to compare them in a systematic way. The idea of “decoding” matcha is pretty exciting and I ended up learning more than I had ever expected to.
Affogato reminds me of Italy. A scoop of ice cream is "drowned" in a shot of espresso. A little guilty pleasure. Here I am deliberately switching espresso for matcha because the craft coffee movement is believed to be the predecessor of today’s high-quality tea industry, at least here in the United States. Thank you, craft coffee! I owe you one!The popularity of affogato lies in the combination of opposite flavors (bitter espresso VS sweet gelato) and different temperatures (hot espresso VS cold gelato). Opposites attract, we know that. Think of the many successful flavor combinations which rely on this principle, like sweet and salty (salted caramel, peanut butter and jelly, maple and bacon). It works.
I am sitting on a tatami mat. My legs start tingling but I barely notice it. My surroundings are so beautiful I can hardly perceive anything else. Outside the open screen windows there is a perfectly landscaped garden with stone lanterns and small stone bridges over a pond inhabited by black, orange and white koi. On the low table in front of me, a bowl of frothy matcha and a sweet rice treat. I am in Kyoto and I am never going to leave. Join me for a matcha tea tasting.
