-
-
wait wait wait.
I haven't heard anyone talk of sugar yet.
Alas there's a lot of tea talk.. suggesting..
un no drink t wit suga???
Note
-
Digging around looking for an old package of matcha powder (which I cannot find) I found this. Forgot in addition to the Numi I also tried this one. Didn't like it. I wonder why the Ito En is so much better. Trying out my new tea strainer with Ito En Traditional and Ito En Genmaicha, cutting open the plastic bags and dumping the contents into my new little extra fine tea strainer. Works great.
l i t t l e
s t e p h e r sNote
-
Oh yeah, chuft said something about sweet tea, didn't he? I made a post before about soda being poison blah blah blah, well it doesn't mean I don't love the taste. Sweet tea is delicious, but it's not worth 80 grams of sugar. I do sometimes like a little milk and sugar in my black tea. It's been a while since I've done that... Now I'm craving it.
There's probably a reason Ito En is so popular. They're a huge brand and I'm sure they do a lot of research to make the best blends. My sense of taste isn't that strong, and I'm constantly drinking different teas and brewing them slightly differently. I'm not good at cataloguing the differences and sussing out which ones I like most. Glad the strainer system is working for you. I have a Japanese kyuu su clay tea pot, but it's a drag to clean.Note
-
Note
-
Stopped at the Japanese grocery store today.
The tea bags are folded and stapled shut, so no plastics.Note
-
Ah but how are the strings attached?
I assume Natto is refrigerated? How long is it good for? Does it have an expiration date on it. Do you eat all it at once after opening one or can you save some?l i t t l es t e p h e r sNote
-
The string is folded over and the staple covers it in two direction, so it is quite secure and I don't see any glue. Thanks for checking.
So many questions, lol. It comes frozen from Japan (my Japanese grocery store sold fresh, locally made natto for a while, but they stopped years ago). Once it's been thawed you keep it refrigerated for up to 5 days. Those little boxes in my shopping basket are actually 3 single-serve styrofoam containers bundled together, each one containing a 40g serving and two tiny packets of soy sauce and mustard respectively (some come with other types of sauce, and some come plain, but I like the mustard soy ones). 40g is a perfect serving size. You wouldn't want to save it because it's extraordinarily slimy and having to wash out a tupperware full of that stuff would be a nightmare.
Japanese people eat it mixed into spaghetti, on toast, as a filling in onigiri (rice balls), and tons of other ways I can't even imagine. I eat it over rice, or by itself if I'm out of rice or not that hungry.Note
-
Oh great! After reading this thread, now I want cola soda now
Note
-
Note
-
I don't like coffee so much, I usually drink tea. Not the fermented ones in the supermarket (I don't like those) but the biological dried herbs. Boiled water with a bit of sugar is nice too.Magnús: - I have fans of all ages and I don't think it's weird when older people like LazyTown. LazyTown appeals to people for many different reasons: dancing, acrobatics, etc.Note
-
Note
-
I just got these delivered
There are a ridiculous number of matcha powders for sale, although it appears they are either out of stock or 50% higher price than they were in say December. Seems to be some sort of matcha shortage going on, not sure why that is. And now the tariffs. Maybe people stopped drinking the bagged ones due to the microplastics.
I have been using this
and cutting open the Ito En bags and dumping the contents into the strainer and using that to avoid the microplastics. The strainer fits into my mug. Very tasty. But I am going to try dumping a little scoop (1/8 teaspoon) or maybe 2 scoops into it as well to see whether I can boost the umami flavor.
It seems different matchas come from different cultivars and regions. There was one that the manufacturer identified as having very high umami but of course it was out of stock.
Apparently the labeling is misleading and "ceremonial grade" and "culinary grade" is not actually a thing in Japan, it's a US marketing thing.
I found this article very informative.
https://www.seriouseats.com/best-matcha-powder-8757655
I am hoping this source does not suck, but it is possible it does. The Firefox review checker gave a "C" to the reviews on Amazon for both this powder and even the spoon lol. Seems companies are relentlessly spamming Amazon with fake reviews even if they have a good product. Well I hope it's a good product.
From the article, this paragraph was eye-opening.
It’s well suited to traditional preparations like usucha or koicha. The former is a relatively thin, frothy whisked tea made with a matcha bowl and whisk (aka chawan and chasen), two grams of matcha, and two ounces of warm water. The latter, koicha, is a more formal preparation in which double the matcha is whisked into half the liquid, creating a thick paste resembling melted chocolate that's ultra-concentrated with flavor.
That's not "tea" as I am used to thinking of it. One ounce of water with two teaspoons of matcha whisked in? That's a thick potion. I can't imagine the caffeine. Not a normal drink to have at work in any case or even in the morning on the weekends. I like to enjoy drinking my tea, drinking multiple 12-oz mugs of it, one or two ounces means it would be gone almost immediately, unless people are sipping it like a fine liqueur. Even for a good beer it's annoying how quickly a 12 ounce one is gone. I have never understood people who can sit in a bar and nurse a beer for an hour. I can nurse it for maybe ten or fifteen minutes. I can't imagine drinking such a tiny drink.
Now that I think about it I think most people use little teacups which only hold 6 oz instead of the big coffee mugs I use. They probably have much more flavorful tea but it's gone quickly. I guess I'm used to watery tea. I'd love to add heavy cream to it but the calories are murder. One tablespoon is 29 calories and I am sure I usually dump more than that in there. And have multiple cups lol. I can't afford 120 calories a day of just heavy cream in my tea. But it is tempting to get some and keep it at work. Of course I would never use it up before it went bad, is the problem. Heavy cream lasts about two weeks after opening and the smallest size sold is a pint.
So I am not going to be making traditional preparations, but just juicing my Ito En stuff with a little extra powder to see what I get. It should make the $24 cost of this little 40g container more palatable.
Waiting for BRBFBI to call me a heretic for not using one of those wooden Japanese spoons. But I think those are too big for what I want to do.
l i t t l es t e p h e r sNote
-
chuft Hey, I think that’s the exact same matcha tin I have. I’m not going to call you a heretic; I don’t even know what spoon you’re referring to. I whisk my matcha like a normal person rather than dusting it into my tea like you do, but that’s the closest I’ll come.
I didn’t know 2 tsp matcha to 1 oz water was a traditional thing (or a thing people did at all). Usucha and koicha translate to thin tea and thick tea respectively. I’m with you, though: I can’t make a drink last so I’m going to need more liquid than that. Although with hot drinks it’s usually a race to finish it before it gets even a little bit cold, since I like them piping hot. The exception to that is on the weekend I make myself an American sized cup of coffee (pour over) and try to make it last (which usually involves walking back to the kitchen and microwaving it three of four times). If it’s a cold drink I don’t mind if it gets up to room temperature, but I’m still going to have a hard time making it last more than 15 minutes.
I’ve done two tsp of matcha before, but with probably 10 oz of water. I’m going to guess I get around 200mg of caffeine a day from coffee, so if I’m drinking matcha as a coffee replacement I want a lot.
I also didn’t know that the matcha grades were subjective marketing.
Lol, I never understood the “I can’t afford an extra 120 calories” thing. That’s one tiny Lindt chocolate, or like a minuscule handful of nuts. I’m a bachelor with the unfortunate responsibility of feeding myself, and the number of calories I consume in a day varies wildly. I can’t imagine 120 making any meaningful difference.Note
-
As you get older your metabolism slows, and you also lose muscle, so even at the same weight you are more fat and less muscle (and clothes get tighter even at the same weight as before). I used to lose weight eating chef salads, now I gain weight eating the exact same thing.
I think I only need 1,600 calories a day to maintain, and less to lose. And I need to lose. 120 might not seem like much but it's almost 10% of my daily budget and can be the difference between losing that day or staying the same (or even gaining if it's a bad day).
"Don't consume liquid calories" is pretty much a dieting standard. Liquid calories are the least satisfying and take up the least room. Dieters drop alcohol, fruit juices, milk, sugared cokes and energy drinks, sweet tea, etc. at the start of a diet if they're wise.
If you are young and physically active then your calorie budget is so large you wouldn't notice 120.
Chashaku 茶 杓
Il i t t l es t e p h e r sNote
10.lazytown.eu
Note