Bay Area Menu Files

Matcha-Do About Nothing - Let's Talk Tea

My daily caffeine fix usually consists of the following on rotation: Darjeeling, English Breakfast, Earl Grey, Chai or Matcha. If you haven’t already figured out, they’re all names of tea. Despite America being a predominantly coffee drinking country, I am well rooted in the tea camp.

Not to say, I don’t drink coffee. No, that’s a lie because I do on occasion consume copious amounts to stay a functional human being during stressful work periods of my life.

But tea is practically woven into my DNA. I take it hot, cold, with milk, sugar, lemonade (not all together though…) and any other different concoctions that the brilliant minds out there can concoct.

Lately, I’ve got matcha on the brain. Matcha is finely grounded green tea leaves that are milled to the point that they become powder. It’s a bright green powder that becomes equally green when you add hot water and turn into a drink or mix it into batter to turn into cake. The reason why matcha is so pigmented is due to how they prepare matcha for harvest. A couple of weeks before harvest, the tea leaves are covered to prevent direct sunlight. This increases the chlorophyll levels and turn the leaves a richer shade of green.

TOP 6 Reasons to Try Matcha

You get more caffeine in matcha than your typical green tea because you’re consuming the entire leaf instead of steeping the leaves.
It’s versatile. You see it in drinks, cakes, desserts, shaved ice, ice cream and even POCKY.
The taste of matcha can be described as sweet, but also grassy. It’s very mild compared to other teas. And if it’s bitter, that means it may be a bad grade.
Matcha is traditionally used in a formal tea ceremony in Japan. And there are different grades for matcha. But you can find it in most Asian supermarkets or Amazon. My go-to markets are Mitsuwa, Nijiya or the local 99 Ranch. I was approached by Tenzo Tea to try out their matcha that’s grown in Japan and a product of California. SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BUSINESSES!
It has a naturally calming effect, thanks to the higher levels of L-Theanine that is boosted from shading the leaves prior to harvest. If you’re a scatterbrain like me in the morning and naturally tethers from groggy and spastic, this is a fantastic morning booster.
It’s instagram-worthy. Don’t let that color scare you because it’s au-naturel~

How I Prepare My Matcha

Use a small spoon and eyeball an amount. I fill it about ⅓ of the spoon. Sometimes ½ if I feel like making a thicker tea.
Just grabbed it from the office kitchen

Take your favorite cup. I like something clear so that I can really work out the tea powder clumps. Pour the matcha into your cup.
Add hot water. You don’t need much. Just enough to cover the surface of your cup. About 2-3 oz.
Take your spoon and whisk vigorously to combine. You want to work out the powder pockets. If you have a matcha whisk, this is where you bust it out. A spoon is good substitute, but you want to take your time to avoid choking on matcha powder.
At this point, you can add more hot water to dilute your matcha mixture and drink. You can drink it cold by adding cold water and ice cubes. Or turn it into a latte by adding milk. I don’t sweeten my matcha, but that’s definitely an option. A little agave syrup goes a long way.
And that’s it! I would keep the spoon or a straw on hand to stir before you drink. Because matcha has a tendency to pool at the bottom.

And enjoy! There are a lot of tea varieties out there in the world, but matcha is definitely in my top 5.

What kind of tea do you drink? And how do you usually take it? My coworkers and I constantly joke around saying how I need a milk tea IV.

0Comments

, by Amy

In Bay Area, Desserts

The Boba Files: Sno-Crave Tea House (San Francisco, CA)

The Boba Files #023: A South Bay Favorite Finds Its Way Into SF

I can still remember the first time I visited Sno-Crave. It was in Fremont. At an average Asian plaza. Surrounded by other Chinese restaurants. The restaurants in the neighborhood seem normal enough and then as you drive through the parking lot looking for a spot, you see the crowd of 20+ people anxiously waiting outside the newest boba shop in the neighborhood.

After all, you can’t call it Bay Area without the lines. And while the average Joe can list out the hottest tech companies in the area when broached the topic of Silicon Valley, it’s also the boba mecca of Northern California. Ask any teenager walking down the street and they can name you at least 5 and probably provide you with a in-depth rundown of their favorite.

And if they’re a South Bay native, you can be sure Sno-Crave is on that list. Started off mainly in Fremont and spreading over to cities like Milpitas and San Jose, Sno-Crave is well-known for its shaved snow, decadent toast towers and milk tea served in mason jars and ornate tea pots.

They specialize in the Taiwanese shaved ice. Unlike the shaved ice or snow cones I’ve grown up-- you know the little crunchy ice pebbles that are molded into a mound and then liberally soaked with your choice of a fruity syrup-- Taiwanese shaved ice has a texture more similar to ice cream. They start with a block of already flavored ice and the machine shaves off layers until you have a whole plate of ribbons or ice lasagna or for my nerdy friends out there-- mitochondria.

That said, I visited the newest branch that has opened up about 6 months ago in San Francisco. Located right across the street from San Francisco City College and Whole Foods, they sit in a prime location that attracts a lot of attention from the student population as well as from the residential neighborhood.

So. Adorable.

When you enter, the Tea House is charming with an industrial style paired with a decorated chalkboard wall spanning the entire right side, bare gray walls, and light wooden furnishings.

They have two chalk boards right behind their cash register listing the most popular items as well as the newly added drinks on the menu.

One of the servers love the Thai milk tea and the coffee milk tea.

Not SF unless they're serving ORGANIC milk

Off the menu, we ordered the Green Lava, Blue Milky Wave Milk Tea with boba, Matcha Strawberry Latte with boba and a Honey Dew Milk Tea with rainbow jelly and boba.

It’s been a while since I’ve tried their toast selection and I’m happy to report that it’s still fingerlicking delicious.

A cascading waterfall of green tea goodness.

The blue milky wave milk tea has a butterfly pea tea base and flavored with vanilla to give it more of a milk tea taste. When mixed together, it makes this strangely pleasant robin blue shade. Taste wise, it was mild, much milder than I expected. But I didn’t have any previous exposure to butterfly pea tea to compare the taste to. It paired well with the green lava toast and I did ask for 50% sweetness to cut down on the sugar.

I did speak briefly with the owner and they’re looking to change the menu in the near future by adding some savory items as well as more desserts. Whether or not they decide to go the hot pot route like the one of the old locations on De Anza in San Jose, we will have to wait and see.