How to prepare matcha: a beginner's guide (whisk optional)

You can master matcha in two minutes, with nothing you don't already have in your kitchen. The whole secret is three numbers: 2 grams of powder, 70–80 ml of water, 80 °C max. The rest is whisking – and for that, a bamboo whisk, a milk frother or a plain shaker will do. Let's go step by step.

What you'll need

• Matcha – ceremonial, ground as recently as possible (why that matters)
• Water – hot, but not boiling (70–80 °C)
• Something to whisk with – a bamboo chasen whisk, an electric milk frother or a shaker
• A bowl or mug with a wide base
• Optionally a sieve for sifting the powder

Step by step

1. Sift 2 g of matcha (a level teaspoon) through a sieve into your bowl. Sifting breaks up clumps – the powder is so fine that static electricity loves to stick it together. You can skip this step, but the foam comes out prettier with it.
2. Add a splash of water and make a paste. Pour in just ~20 ml of water first and stir the powder into a smooth, lump-free paste with circular motions. This is the trick beginners miss most.
3. Top up the rest of the water – 70–80 ml total at 70–80 °C. No kettle with a thermostat? Let boiled water sit for 2–3 minutes and you're there.
4. Whisk into a foam. Use fast strokes in a W or M shape (not circles!) for about 20–30 seconds, until a fine foam with tiny bubbles forms. Circling just spins the water – the W motion is what gets air into it.
5. Done. Drink it right away, while the foam is alive. Pure matcha prepared this way is called usucha – "thin tea", the everyday standard.

No whisk? No problem

The bamboo chasen whisk is the classic and makes the prettiest foam, but it's not a requirement:

• Electric milk frother (the stick kind, a few euros) – 15 seconds and you get foam almost as good as a whisk's. Best value for a beginner.
• Shaker or a jam jar with a lid – matcha + cooler water, shake hard for 20 seconds. Perfect for iced matcha in summer; never put hot water in a shaker.
• Blender – works for bigger batches, like when you're making matcha lattes for a crowd.

The only thing that genuinely doesn't work is a plain spoon – it doesn't disperse matcha in water, it just gets it wet. The result: clumps and sediment at the bottom.

Usucha vs. koicha – two methods, one matcha

Usucha (thin tea) is what we made above: 2 g to 70–80 ml, whisked into a foam. Koicha (thick tea) is the ceremonial version: double the powder in half the water, not whisked into foam but slowly kneaded into a thick, almost syrupy texture. Save koicha for truly top-tier first-harvest matcha – it lets you taste everything the powder holds, with zero compromise.

The most common mistakes (and how to fix them)

• Boiling water → bitter matcha. Fix: a thermostat kettle, or 2–3 minutes of patience.
• Whisking in circles → no foam. Whisk in a W, from the wrist, lightly.
• Too much powder – more isn't better. 2 g is the proven standard; a stronger dose skews the taste towards bitter.
• Old matcha – powder that sits open in a cupboard for months loses colour and flavour. Store it airtight, cool and dark, and use it within a few weeks of opening. Better to buy less, more often – freshness counts from the milling date.
• Hard tap water – in regions with very hard water, the taste goes dull. Filtered or soft spring water makes a surprising difference.

What about matcha lattes?

Matcha + frothed milk is a chapter of its own – ratios, the iced version and the mistakes cafés make are all in our recipe for the perfect matcha latte.