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Easing out and in coffee vs. matcha latte


shootingstar

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I didn't realize it until now, but there have been many weeks where I never had any coffee at all. Just lots of different teas. My go-to for past 2 yrs. had been pretty well, matcha latte at a cafe if I'm not eating anything else big. Not sure regular (coffee) latte or cafe au lait is my thing anymore. I know it's not cheap, but what else am I doing with my life with restrictions?

I also prefer sugarless matcha latte. Very good taste to me.  

So going back to work in office part-time, will be back to some coffee.

 

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16 minutes ago, Old No. 7 said:

@shootingstar what is a matcha latte? Explain to me as if I am seven years old. 

The real matcha is a powdered green tea  from tea farms in Kyoto region. It is a higher grade of green tea. I was introduced  to it....when we were in the Kyoto area at same time, matcha tea was catching on in big Canadian cities. Grinding tea after it's been cured, was invented by a Buddhist monk centuries ago. Prior to that, I did not know this type of tea in particular, is in a  powder.

That's the real stuff from that region in Japan. I'm sure in North America we get lower grade tea that's grinded into powder.

So for hot matcha latte, usually the barista put in some hot water and the  matcha tea  powder. They should use this whisk to whip-fast the powder into water properly (otherwise it's just lumpy /wrong). Once, they didn't use the whisk for tea whipping and it tasted awful.  Then they will inject the mixture with warm milk like any regular latte. I ask for no syrup/no sugar. No need. So to me, it's comfort drink that now tastes better than a (coffee).

 When we went to Tokyo and Kyoto, part of our trip without even planning this was trying matcha tea desserts. I know, we were crazy. But it was  part of the fun, amongst other things we saw/tried.   I really wished I known about the tea plantations in the region. It would have been worth visiting one.Matcha WhiskMuch Matcha Green Tea Desserts: Japan and Seoul, South Korea – Cycle Write Blog (wordpress.com)

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I'm accustomed to green tea since I was a child...around 8-10 yrs. old. That's what you have of course, with dim sum. We didn't have green tea often which is not the sort of thing children should be drinking lots of initially. 

I can't imagine having coffee  (too strong flavours) with dim sum. Coffee taste would overwhelm the taste of:  har gow (shrimp dim sum variant) daikon cake, sui mai, etc.

I've increased abit of green tea consumption at home, since the pandemic. It gives me palate variety ..in addition to Earl Grey, Salada  Tea, Chai Spicy, etc. The sad thing is green tea in North American stores, is not great quality unless one pays alot more money.

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24 minutes ago, shootingstar said:

I didn't realize it until now, but there have been many weeks where I never had any coffee at all. Just lots of different teas. My go-to for past 2 yrs. had been pretty well, matcha latte at a cafe if I'm not eating anyting else big. Not sure regular (coffee) latte or cafe au lait is my thing anymore. I know it's not cheap, but what else am I doing with my life with restrictions?

I also prefer sugarless matcha latte. Very good taste to me.  

So going back to work in office part-time, will be back to some coffee.

 

Do you get headaches if you don't get enough caffeine?

I once quit coffee when I was on THE fad diet of the 80's: the 85%+ Carbs "Pritikin Promise" - as unbalanced from healthy as the no-carb fad diets of today and just as full of rave reviews and testimonials.  Coffee was a no-no and I had a withdrawal headache for two straight weeks.  A couple months later, I went back to coffee - it

A decade later, I was teamed with a Home Ec teacher with a degree in Nutrition Science from Penn State to write a Nutrition Science curriculum - which went on to be used throughout the mid-Atlantic and we were sent to many teachers conferences to teach it to teachers. While writing it we spent time studying Penn State nutrition and time at the National Institutes of Health labs in Bethesda, MD - where they were constructing that 5-section Food Pyramid.  I became convinced that the balanced good-carb, protein, good-fat diets like the Mediterranean Diet and Dash Diet are the way to go.

I still feel the same, though I have to limit carbs due to diabetes.

Coffee has tons of caffeine compared to most other edible stuff.  Personally, I'm ok - no headaches, no sluggishness - when I sub tea for coffee but I always wonder if I got enough.

I taught Organic Chemistry Lab at the U. of Toronto in 1975 and one lab was caffeine extraction from coffee, tea, and NoDoz tablets.

They were all extracted by dissolving each substance in a solution then precipitating it as crystals. Tea and NoDox produced very pure, white, caffeine crystals, but coffee is so loaded with it that such large amounts precipitated out as discolored crystals that it dragged impurities with it.  The students who were assigned coffee were afraid they'd get a bad grade, but I told them they're results were fine as long as they got a lot of caffeine.

 

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12 minutes ago, MickinMD said:

Do you get headaches if you don't get enough caffeine?

......................................................................................................

Coffee has tons of caffeine compared to most other edible stuff.  Personally, I'm ok - no headaches, no sluggishness - when I sub tea for coffee but I always wonder if I got enough.

I taught Organic Chemistry Lab at the U. of Toronto in 1975 and one lab was caffeine extraction from coffee, tea, and NoDoz tablets.

They were all extracted by dissolving each substance in a solution then precipitating it as crystals. Tea and NoDox produced very pure, white, caffeine crystals, but coffee is so loaded with it that such large amounts precipitated out as discolored crystals that it dragged impurities with it.  The students who were assigned coffee were afraid they'd get a bad grade, but I told them they're results were fine as long as they got a lot of caffeine.

 

I haven't notice those headaches for withdrawal. But then, I have tea daily.

One thing I have noticed for Western palates, is if something has a (green) vegetative taste, the immediate tendency is to throw in sugar substance or cover it up with some sort of sauce/cheese whatever.  

I'd rather not go down the route of wanting sugar in my coffee/tea, etc. I have desserts which is not great at all. 

Honest, it is teaching/having children develop such palates for at younger age..in general.  I haven't known anyone raised on  Asian diet to refuse green tea. I actually consider green tea taste VERY TAME in unusual/"wierd" factor. (You guys, have no idea what I have tasted as a child. Not as an adult, as a child.)

I'm sure there are some but probably a minority..maybe because they are coffee fans. 

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I don't miss the vending machine coffee from the factory break room. It was more like coffee roulette....sometimes the coffee was good enough to keep you awake and sometimes it was so bad you couldn't drink it. 

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23 minutes ago, shootingstar said:

I haven't notice those headaches for withdrawal. But then, I have tea daily.

One thing I have noticed for Western palates, is if something has a (green) vegetative taste, the immediate tendency is to throw in sugar substance or cover it up with some sort of sauce/cheese whatever.  

I'd rather not go down the route of wanting sugar in my coffee/tea, etc. I have desserts which is not great at all. 

Honest, it is teaching/having children develop such palates for at younger age..in general.  I haven't known anyone raised on  Asian diet to refuse green tea. I actually consider green tea taste VERY TAME in unusual/"wierd" factor. (You guys, have no idea what I have tasted as a child. Not as an adult, as a child.)

I'm sure there are some but probably a minority..maybe because they are coffee fans. 

If you all think I'm sounding "hard", my 3 sisters have all ensured their children develop a broad, diverse palate. Get them used  to broad variety of veggies, stronger flavours (curry, etc.)  soon. That's 7 children. None of the "ew" I won't try whatever, unless it's allergies.  Yes, all these children (5 are adult) drink green tea.

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15 minutes ago, BR46 said:

I don't miss the vending machine coffee from the factory break room. It was more like coffee roulette....sometimes the coffee was good enough to keep you awake and sometimes it was so bad you couldn't drink it. 

Well, ours is ok. We do get a choice of dark vs. decaf. We have tea offered. It's unusual in our dept. coffee, is free. The coffee machine is to also serve city councillors later in day. That's why it's set up in just our dept. that way. Fast and easy. 

Below a 11 yr. old niece and 21 yr. old nephew from different families, with their green tea, and later a big lunch.

 

2derekella.JPG

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39 minutes ago, shootingstar said:

I haven't notice those headaches for withdrawal. But then, I have tea daily.

One thing I have noticed for Western palates, is if something has a (green) vegetative taste, the immediate tendency is to throw in sugar substance or cover it up with some sort of sauce/cheese whatever.  

I'd rather not go down the route of wanting sugar in my coffee/tea, etc. I have desserts which is not great at all. 

Honest, it is teaching/having children develop such palates for at younger age..in general.  I haven't known anyone raised on  Asian diet to refuse green tea. I actually consider green tea taste VERY TAME in unusual/"wierd" factor. (You guys, have no idea what I have tasted as a child. Not as an adult, as a child.)

I'm sure there are some but probably a minority..maybe because they are coffee fans. 

I don't know, western palettes include rotten shark and haggis etc.  We aren't all the sterile little cupcake eaters you paint us as.  :) 

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19 minutes ago, Wilbur said:

I don't know, western palettes include rotten shark and haggis etc.  We aren't all the sterile little cupcake eaters you paint us as.  :) 

True, but western Europe overall has alot less unusual dishes, I mean really strong tasting/weird animals/plants, unusual dishes. However strong cheeses (aged Cheddar is pretty tame) is probably a great exception. It's probably the strange creaminess of a really strong cheese for Asians...and the dairy base.  In 21st century is less 'unusual".  However the cheesecakes I had in Japan with matcha, the cheesecake part was very light..for Asian palate.

I've met more people who are long-time Albertans, who dislike seafood. 

I didn't like olives until my late 20's. I found the heavy olive oil and saltiness initially hard to take.

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31 minutes ago, Wilbur said:

I find I get just as wired on black and green teas as I do coffee so I tend to stick with what tastes good to me.  Espresso, black.  :)  

Well, never coffee with dim sum. It would overshadow taste of some dim sums. Some dim sum types have a delicate taste.

I would suggest for folks here, try to avoid this faux pas in dim sum restaurants. Or at least ask for  black tea/earl grey.

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Thanks, I know what green tea is. I have some in the house and drink it on occasion. I did not know what Matcha was but was curious since you mention it frequently. I would not like it as a latte. Too much milk; I drink green tea like my coffee and whisky: straight. When I took a class in conversational Japanese we learned about the Japanese tea ceremony that uses the matcha powder and the bamboo whisk. The ritual is very rigid and must be followed correctly by all involved. 

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17 minutes ago, Old No. 7 said:

Thanks, I know what green tea is. I have some in the house and drink it on occasion. I did not know what Matcha was but was curious since you mention it frequently. I would not like it as a latte. Too much milk; I drink green tea like my coffee and whisky: straight. When I took a class in conversational Japanese we learned about the Japanese tea ceremony that uses the matcha powder and the bamboo whisk. The ritual is very rigid and must be followed correctly by all involved. 

We were at more expensive Kyoto tea house..since 1800's. A bowl of matcha which I did consume. It was a humid 85 degrees C. that day. Just before monsoon season.The apple is actually mochi (pounded rice until it is gelatinous. Used for dessert chewables.

For sure the traditional tea ceremony is probably rigid. I haven't participated in one yet.  It's probably good for appreciation of flavour, sense of the moment/occasion several times/yr.  Like wine-tasting but abit more than that, since some of the high-class (very expensive) elaborate meals actually have seasonal themes reflected in the food dishes' array. 

Sometimes to take a tradtional high quality food item...and liberate it so it a broader range of people can enjoy it.

 Ok. Well, this meal to me ...is actually tame in "wierdness".   The squares are tofu covered dried toasted tofu crumbs. It was served some sort of sweet syrup.  

teajellysquaresmochi2.jpg?w=1000

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My take away from the tea ritual is that the tea is but one part of the ritual that acknowledges the server’s appreciation for the opportunity to serve and the guest’s appreciation of the tea and service. Mother in laws use the ceremony to learn about their son’s choice of mates, etc. 

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