Matcha Source!

Some time in the cold of winter, I found a link to this matcha site on a tea blog Kristen sent me. Immediately, I sent away for a tiny tin, curious about how it would own up to those leftover, somehow, from Berkeley Bowl (or from a pricey, but still not as flavorful, tin from Mariage Freres that Liam picked up for me last summer in Paris).

Modern, green, nifty, "sift. whisk. enjoy," I ordered a bamboo whisk and whisked away. The vegetal, soft taste was the freshest I'd had, and as soon as this can was complete (refrigerated in between uses), I put out the cash to order the entire set (whisk with more bristles! a celadon stand for it! a bamboo spoon to truly get the 'two almond-size' scoops!).

Tea-making became a moment and that moment was one that I enjoyed last year, before I even had this whole school thing in front of me every day. 3 hours of a calm, caffeinated focus. I was down.

I ordered one for Kristen, stayed on the mailing list, and was delighted when I found out they opened a pop-up store in SoHo in June (now extended through July). I dragged Liam and a litany of questions about achieving the foam level I had only seen in pictures - how are you getting that foam? Is it my water? The temperature? My whisking? (answer: keep my water hot, decrease my water in half, and ensure I had a N/Z method of whisking, never a circle)

I am in love. With matcha.

I bought a tin of the kind for discerning drinkers along with the lovely white tea bowl (above) forced Liam to get an iced matcha, and hope to go back before they close.

My goals for the summer include reading 10 books, going to a farm dinner, finding a personal trainer at the Y to get into a routine I can keep up over the year, and spend each morning reading the paper, drinking tea and eating toast at my leisure - so far, it's been nearly all matcha.