Making matcha is a ritual. Many American cafes don’t give this ritual the respect that carefully brewed Japanese tea deserves. Matcha primarily exists in two forms: ceremonial and culinary. If you order matcha at a cafe that takes proper care of matcha, you’ll probably end up drinking a ceremonial cup of matcha, stirred in a small bowl of water with a whisk.
The word “matcha” refers to tea leaves that have been crushed into a powder. Tea leaves before being ground are called tencha leaves. Although tencha leaves can be steeped whole, they are usually harvested and consumed to make matcha. Matcha is so commercialized that when Americans buy matcha, we usually understand that we are buying powder.
When purchasing coffee beans, you generally have two options. Whole beans that require a grinder and pre-ground beans. By grinding the whole beans just before brewing, you get fresher coffee. So why haven’t we commercialized the option of grinding our own tencha leaves to make fresh matcha powder? Although hard to find, tencha leaves can be purchased online, in specialty stores, and at Cuzen. Masu.
welcome to the grind
Cuzen matcha machine introduces freshly ground matcha. This is a small square machine that automates the process of making matcha. The main part of the machine is 9.9 x 8.9 x 4.9 inches, but the grinding component, which is a metal barrel protruding from the top, adds about 4 inches, making the overall height 13.9 inches. This gadget allows you to make matcha tea in about two and a half minutes, almost hands-free.
The two main components of this machine are the barrel that contains the grinder and the cup underneath that receives the fresh powder. When you remove the bamboo lid at the top of the tube, you’ll see a piece of gray plastic at the top. This part has a metal handle that helps you pull the whole thing out when you need it. Insert the leaves here.
Photo by Andrew Watman
This machine is designed to accept whole packs of leaves, and the leaves can be kept fresh for about a month. There are several types of tencha leaves in it, so I don’t like to add too many at once because I want to try them all out. Twist this gray part onto the bottom part to secure it. If you unlock it while there are still fallen leaves, it is quite difficult to relock it in place. To twist it back, I had to turn it upside down to get the leaves off. It sounds annoying because it is.
