Koto No Tsuki

One of my two favorite matcha’s.

High in the savory “umami” flavor, no bitterness, perfect for thick or thin matcha.

$19.50 per cannister, fair price for ceremony-grade matcha.
https://www.itoen.com/loose-leaf-tea/japanese-tea/matcha-koto-no-tsuki-7-oz-can.html

(Note for beginners, you need a bamboo whisk for matcha… a Chawan (tea bowl) is desirable, but you can get away with using a pyrex or ceramic bowl, but without the bamboo whisk, the matcha really is not going to dissolve properly and will not taste right. For some reason using a Western-style metal whisk doesn’t work, probably because the bamboo whisks have up to a hundred tines, whereas metal whisks might have only 10 or 15)

Like many of my teas… this one is also past its best before date.. by like, more than an entire year.

This is what happens when you buy at a much faster rate than you can drink, and you live in Australia where there aren’t enough people to gift or swap tea with.

Anyway, this was a Japan souvenir from my boyfriend. First time I made it, I followed a website’s directions to use water ‘just below boiling.’ I assumed this to mean 90-95C and it turned out very bitter with no froth.

Gave this another shot at 80C recommended elsewhere, and it was perfect! Beautiful foam, no bitterness at all. Light and smooth, with vegetal and herbaceous flavours. Slight umami quality, most likely more intense if this wasn’t past its best before date by a year.

Reminds me of my own time in Japan, attending a tea ceremony tutorial in Kyoto. The quality of this matcha is not too far off from the ceremonial grade quality used by my hostess and teacher. Not quite, but not too far off.