To get the most out of matcha it is important to prepare it well, if not you might end up wasting product and serving a drink to your customers that doesn't taste as it should.
To begin you'll need a matcha whisk (chasen) and a bowl (chawan). The whisk will allow you to froth the tea properly, and the bowl needs to be of a large enough size to comfortably whisk in.
Take around a teaspoon of your matcha powder and add it to the bowl. Add water that is just off the boil to this (a rough tsp of matcha will take around 80ml water). It is recommended that you sift your matcha into the bowl to avoid any clumps forming.
Take your whisk and slowly begin to zig-zag it back and forth from the top of the water to the bottom. As you move the whisking motion should become gradually firmer, getting out to the sides of the bowl. Do this until all the matcha is dissolved and you've developed a nice, tight foam. You don't want large bubbles.
Once you are happy with the foam you can slow down the whisking motion and come to a stop in the middle of the bowl. Gently remove the whisk and you're done.
It is possible to make matcha directly in a large cup, though the space for whisking will be restricted and you may find you cannot get a proper foam. When making matcha directly in the cup we'd recommend making a paste first by adding a little water to the powder and whisking, then you can continue as above (this way you can be sure you've properly dissolved all of the tea).
