Kimberley's Kyusu

Hey there Teacups! Last year you’ll remember I was given the chance to go into (probably my favourite tea shop) T2 and do a chai masterclass (if you haven’t read the post you can read that here) after loving that masterclass and learning so much from T2 Meadowhall’s amazing tea you can imagine how excited I was when they asked if I wanted to go back and do another masterclass. This time around It was a matcha masterclass. (Oh course I said yes – as if I would ever turn down the opportunity to Collaborate with a favourite tea company of mine)

You all know I’m a huge fan of matcha so I was incredibly excited to be shown just how many different things I could do with it. Even though I’ve been drinking it for quite a while now aside from lattes I’m not very creative with what I make with matcha but this masterclass was the perfect way to change that.

On the day my Fiancé and I made are way to T2 Meadowhall and we were warmly welcomed by Abby who was running our matcha masterclass. I can’t help but feel so happy when I walk into T2’s store the bright colours, their incredible staff and their tea (of course) just instantly fill my heart with joy.

Once we were all settled in and everything we were going to need for our masterclass was set up, Abby told us that she would be showing/teaching us how to prepare matcha in 3 different ways.  Matcha Straight Up, Matcha Lattes (Hot) and Matcha Fresh (Iced). I mostly have my matcha in lattes, so I was really excited to try it in two completely new ways. (I have to say at the time I was the most excited about trying/making the matcha fresh as I’ve never had it iced before.) 

How is T2’s Matcha Made?

T2 Matcha’s made using tencha, green tea leaves that have been grown under shade in the last two weeks. The leaves are then picked and steamed immediately to lock in that vibrant green goodness, then refrigerated until they’re ready to be ground into matcha. They grind their matcha on demand so that they can ensure a good shelf life, plus share with us only the freshest, highest quality organic matcha.

If you’ve seen my boxing day T2 haul post you’ll know that in their sale I treated myself to some of their vanilla matcha and their Genmaicha Matcha. I know that not every tea lover out there loves blended or flavoured teas but I personally do and I love how unique T2 are with the different products they create. As I have already tired and loved their vanilla and genmaicha matcha for this masterclass we stuck to using one I had never tried. We used Their 100% Certified Organic Matcha, Their Chocolate Matcha and Their Cinnamon Matcha.

We started with doing the Matcha straight up. For this we used the 100% Organic Matcha (100% certified organic ingredients: Powdered green tea) Their 100% certified organic matcha is a fine, highly prized powdered green tea traditionally used as part of the Japanese tea ceremony. There are two types of matcha preparation known as usucha (thin tea) and koicha (thick tea). Usucha is typically made from the leaves of tea bushes that are less than 30 years old, and koicha is made from the first harvest of plants that are a over 30 years old. So for this particular masterclass as the leaves used for the matcha are less than 30 years old the preparation method we used was Usucha. You can find out more about this preparation method here.

Once you’ve thoroughly whisked your matcha and have a thick froth you can add more water and drink it like that straight out of the bowl (Just make sure it isn’t to hot you don’t want to burn the matcha and make it bitter) or you can use it as the base to make so many more different drinks. To start with for this we added a little more hot water and tried it straight and I have to say I very much enjoyed it like that. (I was a little hesitant to start with though) I’ve always been scared to have it on its own without sweetener or as the base for a latte, it’s safe to say though that from now on I’ll be having it on it’s own a lot more. T2’s matcha is insanely smooth, cream and ever so slight sweet and I could drink it non stop. It really packs a vegetal punch that I just can’t get enough of, As amazing as their flavoured matcha’s are I’ll have to buy some of their plain matcha too at some point.

This is also how we prepared the base for the Matcha Fresh. Normally this is made with sparking water but as my fiancé and I really aren’t fans of sparking water we opted to make this with still water instead. The matcha fresh recipe was created by T2 and is a unique citrus twist on iced matcha, that is super easy to make.

What you’ll need to make Matcha Fresh:

1 heaped teaspoon T2 Matcha (We started off with just one but for us it wasn’t strong enough so we added one more)
150 ml 80C water
1 lemon, sliced
Still or Sparkling Water
Ice
Matcha bowl
Bamboo matcha whisk
1.2L T2 Jug-a-lot

1. Add T2 Matcha and 150 ml 80C water to your matcha bowl and whisk in an M shape, gently breaking up any lumps, until the mixture starts to froth.

2. Fill your 1.2L T2 Jug-a-lot with ice and lemon slices.

3. Pour matcha mixture over ice and lemon, then top with your chosen water. Stir well and serve. …. It really is that simple.

My fiancé and I both enjoyed this a lot and I think it’s safe to say we will be drinking a lot of this throughout the hotter months. A huge thank you to T2 and Abby for introducing us to this. I can image this would be really nice with a little orange in there as well and maybe a bit of honey just to balance out the lemon.

After our refreshing journey into the world of iced matcha we moved on to matcha lattes. Before this masterclass I will admit that lattes were the only way I ever drank matcha. (Even though I drank a lot of it throughout 2017 I’m still new to the world of matcha) While I’m used to making them and drinking a awful lot of them I was excited to see the way that the team at T2 made them and see if I could transfer their skills over to the way that I make them at home. We used two of T2 flavoured matchas to make our lattes: their chocolate  matcha and their cinnamon matcha. First Abby demonstrated with the cinnamon matcha and then gave us the chance to make our own using the chocolate matcha. (Both were super tasty but I think I preferred the latte we made with the chocolate matcha )

T2’s latte matcha recipe is just as simple as the matcha fresh recipe – It only has a few steps and you don’t need much to make it.

What You’ll Need :

2 teaspoons T2 Matcha (We used the chocolate one)
200 ml/7 fl oz 80°C/176°F water
500 ml/17 fl oz milk of choice (We used soy milk – that’s the only kind of milk T2 use in their stores which is amazing)
Honey or Agave to taste
Matcha bowl
Bamboo matcha whisk

1. Add T2 Matcha and 80°C/176°F water to your matcha bowl and whisk in an M shape, breaking up any lumps, until the mixture starts to froth.

Gently warm 500 ml/17 fl oz milk of choice in a small saucepan until heated but not boiling.

Remove milk from the heat, add matcha mixture and honey to taste. Pour into 2 cups and serve. (Serves 2)

I have to say I never expect much from chocolate teas I’ve only ever had a few amazing ones but this one was perfect. neither ingredient overpower another and it make for a deliciously indulgent latte. Once I’m off of my tea buying ban I’ll be ordering myself some of their chocolate matcha for sure. It makes for a great healthy & vegan alternative to hot chocolate and I can see myself drinking a lot of it in the colder months. If you’re like me and you like your matcha quite strong I’d suggest doubling the amount of matcha in the recipe.

A huge thank you to T2 and their team in the Meadowhall branch for inviting us in for another amazing one on one masterclass. I can never really wrap my mind around the fact that one of my favourite tea companies wants to work with me I’m incredibly thankful. Just like our chai masterclass we had so much fun and we can’t wait to use the techniques we learnt throughout the rest of the year and beyond. I’m sure we’ll be back in store soon.

As always of you have any questions teacups be sure to either stick them in the comments or send them to me on twitter (@teaisawishblog) and I’ll answer them as soon as possible.

Speak to you all on Sunday. Happy Steeping! – Kimberley