Koicha (濃茶, thick matcha)

Koicha frightens people because it looks like the formal one. It is. But formal doesn't mean complicated. This is matcha with nowhere to hide: more powder, less water, and the best tea you can buy.

The first secret is water temperature. Too hot, and the tea turns harsh before your hand has a chance to save it. Keep the water around 70 to 75 C, warm enough to open the aroma, gentle enough to protect the sweetness. The second secret is the dose. Koicha is not whisked into foam like usucha, thin tea. It is kneaded, slowly, until the powder and water become one glossy green paste that pours like warm honey.

Use matcha sold for koicha, made from good tencha leaves, and open it fresh. Old matcha tastes tired no matter how fine your chasen is, and there is nothing hidden here. We serve koicha in chanoyu as the serious center of the gathering, often shared from one bowl. That sharing is not theater. It slows everyone down, which is useful, since most of us drink too quickly and understand too late.