Is matcha supposed to be hot or cold?
By Mio.KShare
Matcha is traditionally drunk hot. In the tea room it is whisked with water from the kettle, and it is served that way in August as well as in January. But it is not only a hot drink, and the cold version is not a modern mistake. It just has to be made differently.
Drink it hot if you want to taste the tea itself: the aroma, the sweetness at the front and the long finish all come through best warm. Drink it iced if you want something refreshing, especially with milk. Either way, whisk the powder in a little water just off the boil first. Cold water will not dissolve matcha properly, so every good cold matcha starts hot.
I study tea in Tokyo, in the Urasenke school. Here is what changes between the two, and how the tea room deals with summer without ever serving it cold.
Hot, iced, or cold-shaken
| Hot | Iced | Shaken in cold water | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How it is made | Whisked in water just off the boil | Whisked hot in a little water, then poured over ice | Powder shaken in a jar with cold water |
| Aroma | Strongest | Softer; the cold mutes it | Faint |
| Sweetness and savoriness | Clearest | Still there, a little flatter | Thin |
| Texture | Fine foam, smooth | Smooth if it was whisked first | Often streaky, with specks at the bottom |
| Best for | Tasting the tea on its own | Summer, and lattes | When you have no whisk and no kettle |
Why hot is the traditional way
Matcha is whisked, not steeped. The powder has to be suspended evenly in the water, and warm water carries it far better than cold. Warmth also lifts the aroma out of the bowl, which is a large part of what you are tasting. That is why tea in the tea room is always made with hot water from the kettle.
Summer is handled another way. From midsummer, many tea rooms bring out hira-chawan, wide, shallow bowls whose open shape lets the tea cool quickly to a comfortable drinking temperature. There is even a summer procedure, arai-jakin, in which the bowl is carried out filled with cold water and the linen cloth is wrung out in front of the guests, so that the sound of the water does the cooling. The coolness is in the bowl and the gesture. The tea itself is still made hot.
If you are worried that hot water makes matcha bitter, it usually does not. Bitterness comes far more often from too much powder, too little water, or an old tin. I have written about water temperature at length, and my answer is to use water just off the boil and look elsewhere first.
How to make it cold properly
The mistake is putting powder straight into cold water or cold milk. It clumps, and those clumps never fully disappear, however long you stir. The fix is simple:
- Sift the powder into a bowl, about 2 grams for one drink.
- Add a little hot water, around 40 to 60 ml, taken just off the boil.
- Whisk until smooth and lightly foamed.
- Pour it over ice, or over cold milk for an iced latte.
The ice cools the concentrate in seconds, and because the powder was dissolved first, the drink stays smooth. The full method, with ratios, is in how to make iced matcha. For milk, see the matcha latte method.
Shaking powder with cold water in a jar does work in a pinch, but it gives a thinner, grainier drink. It is a camping method, not a daily one.
Which tastes better?
For a good tin drunk on its own, hot. Cold dulls exactly the qualities you paid for: the aroma, the sweet opening, the savory depth. If a matcha tastes flat even hot, the problem is usually the tea or the ratio, and whether matcha should taste sweet walks through it.
With milk and ice, the balance shifts. Milk and cold both soften bitterness, so an everyday powder that would be too sharp in a hot bowl can taste good iced. That is the one place I would reach for the cheaper tin on purpose.
Questions I get asked
Is matcha supposed to be hot or cold?
Traditionally hot. It is whisked in water just off the boil and drunk warm. Iced matcha is fine too, as long as the powder is whisked in a little hot water before it meets ice or milk.
Does matcha taste better hot or cold?
A good matcha on its own tastes better hot, because warmth carries the aroma and sweetness. Iced matcha is more refreshing and suits milk, but it is flatter.
Can you make matcha with cold water?
You can shake it with cold water, but the powder does not dissolve well and the drink is thin and grainy. For a smooth cold drink, whisk it in a little hot water first, then add ice.
Is matcha served cold in Japan?
In the tea room, no. Even in summer the tea is made hot, and coolness comes from wide, shallow bowls and summer procedures. Cafés in Japan do serve iced matcha and iced matcha lattes.
Does hot water make matcha bitter?
Rarely. Bitterness usually comes from too much powder, too little water or an old tin, not from water just off the boil.
Where this fits
Whichever way you drink it, the whisk is what makes the difference: I stock a 100-prong Takayama chasen, and a fine sifter is what keeps iced matcha free of lumps. For a bowl wide enough to whisk in, see the Mino-yaki chawan. The whole method from the beginning is in how to make matcha.
Written by Mio.K, who chooses everything in this shop by hand in Japan.