Shizuoka's Usuchatoh Matcha Latte: A Little Too Sweet, Better with Water

    This Shizuoka green tea was a gift from a student and intended for my daughter as I was warned that it was quite sweet. I wasn't sure how to take that as I haven't had a lot of experience with really sweet green tea and don't use powdered green tea often outside of the sushi-train restaurants.

    The back of the package suggested using this tea with warm milk and being that fall just began in earnest around here, a warm cup of matcha latte sounded like just the thing to get the season rolling in our home. I offered it to my daughter first. To my surprise, she took one sip and shook her head. It was not her cup of tea after all.

    I drank the rest on my own, noting that it was sweeter than I had imagined and honestly a little further down that path than was ultimately palatable, but it was drinkable and not bitter. I did appreciate the suggestion of adding milk which created a thicker balance for the sweetness to play off of. Without that core structure, would the drink still be enjoyable or would the sweetness in water be too much? I had to know so I made it again, with water replacing the milk.



    The resulting beverage was a bit darker than the average cup of green tea with more swirling bubbles than I am used to outside of tea ceremony matcha. I also primed a cup of hot coffee to displace any resulting unpleasant flavors. It took a minute to cool down to a comfortable temperature but in the end, the hot tea was significantly more delicious than its lactose laden counterpart. 

    In hot water, the sweetness works with the body of the green tea flavor and comes out tasting more sugary than the average cup of matcha but not cloyingly so. The sensation is not entirely unlike enjoying a cup of earl grey hot with a spoonful of sugar in the cup. This made it strangely nostalgic for me as I haven't used sugar in hot tea since I was around my daughter's age.

    As it turns out, the milk did more harm than good for my enjoyment as it disguised the umami flavors of the green tea experience, leaving me with only a hint of the real deal and more sweetness than was entirely necessary. If you take your hot tea with a dash of sugar, make this with water and you'll likely enjoy it.

This post is supported by Shizuoka Green Tea Guide, one of City-Cost's Supporters helping City-Cost bloggers to enjoy life in Japan and engage in new experiences.