Matcha Mike & BYOH Matcha

The moment I decided to visit Copenhagen, I knew a trip to BYOH Matcha was on my itinerary. How it could it not be? After all, BYOH is the “No 1 Leading Supplier of Matcha in Scandinavia.”  Of course I was going! 

Commuting by bike, as is the way in Copenhagen, I discovered the storefront when my eye caught a glimpse of the pinkish-purplish sign on the sidewalk, which on the one side read, You had me at matcha, and on the other, Choose happyness and drink matcha! This was obviously a place for me.

Photo Credit: Richard L. Tso

Photo Credit: Richard L. Tso

Just a few steps down and I found myself in a small space, which immediately conjured up memories of Holy Matcha in San Diego, a space decorated in millennial pink and white, with large green leaved flora print covering the walls. Matcha Mike, the founder of this establishment, said he was inspired by their aesthetic, yet his walls are more purple and thankfully, given the size of his space, the floral pattern is only used as background for the wall menus. The Holy Matcha space is much larger and can use such bolder themes.  

Michael Kristensen, aka Matcha Mike, stood behind the counter and graciously answered my barrage of questions, eager to share his venture into the world of matcha. His initial spark occurred while on a trip to California in 2013 as an elite tennis player. At the time he was consuming coffee and energy drinks, like Red Bull, but suffered from fatigue, poor sleep, energy crashes, and general aches and pains. That all changed when someone introduced him to matcha. Surprisingly and suddenly, he had more energy throughout the day, his body ached less, and he slept better. That was all it took to create a lifestyle shift. With improved vitality, he gave up all of those other vices, returned to Denmark and embarked on a path to bring matcha to the people.

Currently he distributes his matcha to over 100 outlets in Denmark, and in his small shop he sells three different grades of organic matcha, as well as individual packets of instant matcha (unfortunately while only minute amounts, these do contain soluble fiber for water absorption). Currently, plans are in motion to sell matcha drinks to none other than 7-11 in Denmark (if you are from the States and like I, you would never have dreamed 7-11 would carry healthy food items like chia seed pudding, paleo salads with quinoa and fresh salmon, and more, but it does. I actually bought a few prepackaged meals to take back to my flat and they were satisfying and rather tasty - keep in mind, my expectations for 7-11 are quite low). 

At BYOH, Matcha Mike makes his own homemade cashew milk, so I was eager to try a hot matcha latte, and it didn’t disappoint. It was delicious, and perhaps one of the best cashew milks I have ever tasted. Smooth and rich, it did not overpower the matcha. Not wanting to overindulge, I returned the following day to try the cold version over ice. I have never been a fan of cold tea. Over the decades, friends, including teahouse owners, have tried to change my opinion by offering me their favorite iced tea, yet rarely have I been won over, even during hot summer afternoons. I find cold tea lacking in flavor and depth. Since this concoction was primarily cashew milk, I thoroughly enjoyed it and consumed it all too quickly.  

Mike prefers cashew over almond, and even cow, milk due to its lower calcium content. According to Mike, too much calcium makes the matcha bitter and prevents absorption of nutrients. Calcium and caffeine have an interesting dynamic, as well. First, caffeine causes your body to excrete calcium, so the more caffeine you consume, the greater your calcium excretion. Second, caffeine further blocks your body's ability to absorb calcium. If you are hoping to get your daily dose of calcium via your matcha latte, this is most likely not going to happen. A 2007 study showed that the proteins in cow’s milk bind with the catechins in tea, thereby blocking their absorption. In a 2013 European study the impact of dietary proteins in soy milk was shown to also block absorption of catechin in green tea. The recommendation then is to use a milk substitute that is low in calcium and protein (such as cashew or coconut milk), or at the very least select one without any added calcium, in order to obtain the benefits of the phytonutrients in matcha, if that is the goal. 

I did not have a simple bowl of matcha at BYOH, or any of several matcha items on menu, so I am unable to speak to those. I did, however, purchase a few packages of the highest grade organic matcha to take home. Today I opened the resealable bag and transferred the powder into one of my air tight containers and let it breathe for a bit. Both the color and aroma were much flatter than anticipated. The powder was quite fine, sifted well, and whisked easily. However, a slight bitterness is the note that lingers, and any umami flavor was not very pronounced. While I am pleased to find another organic matcha source, even this premium grade is one I will probably use for lattes or cooking. 

Still, for all you matcha lovers out there, when in Copenhagen, please visit BYOH and Matcha Mike for one of the most delicious matcha lattes you can find, hot or cold!  

Photo Credit: Richard L. Tso

MyTeabook & my new Teas and Tea Tumblr

Jeffery in the Lake Forest Park Tasting Studio

About a month ago, I spent a delightfully meditative Saturday morning in the Lake Forest Park tea tasting studio of Jeffrey McIntosh of MyTeabook. Although they focus on quality Chinese tea rather than matcha, the entire experience was pure heaven emphasizing what I love most - rich conversation of a cup (or many) of tea. What could be better on a gray Seattle morning? I left several hours later enlivened and relaxed (with a lighter wallet carrying home a bounty of new tea). 

Jeffrey is an engaging and gracious host, ready to share his depth of tea knowledge. Knowing my love for Japanese greens, he suggested we start with some intoxicating greens from the Hunan Providence. The first was Xiang Ming (Honey Sweet Green, from Yueyang), which we followed with a green Mao Jian (Green Tip from Changde).

Green Mao Jian (Green Tip from Changde) and Xiang Ming (Honey Sweet Green from Yueyang)

The Honey Sweet Green caught me off guard. I did not detect much aroma from the dry leaf, yet once wet the scent blossomed to a bright floral, reminding me of an oolong rather than green. The taste was sweet and demanded a quick steep. The Mao Jian had a more vegetal scent with savory notes when steeped.  Both were exceptional and delicious (as I am writing this, I am alternating between drinking BOTH). 

I stopped drinking red (black) tea over two decades ago finding them too astringent for my digestive system, but Jeffrey offered a few to sample, and I eagerly agreed. These teas were so smooth, and not at all too tannic. Needless to say, I purchased several grams of the Jin Jun Mei from Wuyi Mountain, Fujian. 

We ended our time by tasting a two pu-erhs. I was fascinated by pu-erh for quiet some time, but in retrospect, I don’t believe I had tasted top quality pu-erhs until I that morning.  So smooth, complex, warming and earthy - I, of course, added both a raw and a sunji ripe pu-erh to my purchases. 

Upon returning home, I steeping some Honey Sweet Green and then logged on to MyTeabook and signed up for a monthly tea subscription which included a double-walled glass travel tea tumbler. With each subscription you receive a monthly delivery of a  combination of 3 - 4 different various high-quality teas pre-portioned into 17 single packets, each containing the perfect amount of tea (2 grams/packet) for the 9.5 ounce travel tumbler. In my first box, I received 4 different teas: a Lv Hao Ya (Green Bud), a Shou Mei (Old White Tea), a Bai Hao (Oriental Beauty - delicious, and a Dian Hong (Wild Black Tea). It also included one extra packet of a special collection tea of Da Hong Pao (Big Red Robe). All were exceptional. 

The website states that the teas provided are meant to handle longer steeping times, but I found that the greens and oolongs could become a bit bitter if left in the tumbler for long periods of time. The environmentalist in me cringes a bit with the extra material and packaging, yet the frequent traveler, who works at 4 different locations in Seattle, adores the easy of these packets. Since I usually have access to hot water, carrying the tumbler and 2 or 3 packets ensures I am never without tea. Another plus - the tumbler is made of glass so you are not steeping your hot beverages in material that leech toxins. The tumbler does not have an annoying tea basket to remove after the steeping time, but it does have a filter so when you drink your tea, you don’t get leaves in your mouth. Furthermore if you have a cup or mug available, you can simply steep the tea in the tumbler and then pour it out into the mug.  Very easy. 

If you love quality Chinese teas, I suggest you visit MyTeabook now. If you want to taste before you buy, or are simply looking for a way to spend a a few hours with a friend, schedule a tasting with Jeffery at his Lake Forest Park studio. I cannot imagine you would be disappointed. 

The leaves of most of the teas we tasted

Steeped in Tea - How Teahouse Kuan Yin Initiated Me Into the World Tea

When I was choosing a naturopathic medical school back in 1991, my options were limited to two in the US - Bastyr University, then named John Bastyr College of Naturopathic Medicine, in Seattle, WA, and National College of Naturopathic Medicine, or NCNM, as it was called then, located in Portland, OR. While several issues influenced my decision, one factor that swayed me towards Seattle was my discovery of Teahouse Kuan Yin. Little did I know that this Teahouse, established by Miranda Pirzada and Frank Miller, opened its doors only one year prior to my arrival. I still remember the night after my admissions interview at Bastyr, strolling down 45th Street in the Wallingford neighborhood, contemplating my future and my potential move to Seattle, when I stumbling upon the delightful storefront. In the early evening, it was rather busy with people. At that time, Kuan Yin was connected to the adjacent store, Wide World Books & Maps, through a set of opened shoji screens. People would browse through travel books then return to a  seat in the teahouse to pour over their purchases while pouring themselves a cup a tea. Never a coffee drinker, I brewed pots of tea and drank it for hours as I studied for the MCATs earlier that summer. Still, a teahouse was something out of the ordinary for this Pittsburgh raised boy. 

That fall I enrolled at Bastyr for naturopathic medical school and spent countless hours at Kuan Yin. I studied there, learning my required coursework, but also receiving a sustained education in tea. I thought I knew about tea, and even thought I liked tea, but I had no idea. Oh, the learning curve! Quickly I recognized I could never go back to Lipton again (I must confess that more often than I care to admit, I ingest some poor excuses for “green tea” made from…gasp...tea bags. However, now that my collection of travel tea bottles has grown, I rarely find myself without loose leaf tea - of course, drinking from glass or metal bottle bares its own set of issues, too.. ).  I came to learn the difference between reds (blacks), oolongs, greens, and whites. I discovered my ignorance for calling herbal preparations teas. I learned about proper amounts, steeping times, water temperatures, and serving methods. In those early days, I was still consuming black teas, but as my palate developed and I was able to distinguish the subtleties of flavors, I range expanded, and I started carrying loose leaf tea and a tea strainer whenever and wherever I traveled. The thought of visiting my parents in Pittsburgh without my “stash” seemed like being banished to hell with nothing more than a Stash tea and lukewarm water.

My time in Kuan Yin was meditative, even if studying, alone or with a colleagues. The mere act of having a pot of tea on the table which you had to steep and pour elevated the energy. This was in a time before laptops were ubiquitous, and reading and writing involved paper. Even though my fellow tea drinkers were involved in their own pursuits (reading, journaling, knitting, drawing, etc.), a palpable sense of community pervaded the air, and I never felt as if people were utterly absent from the room, as if the screen to which they were glued sucked out all of their life force only leaving their empty vacant body present. Back then, people actually talked to one another, either to the stranger sitting next to them, or to the person with whom they were sitting. Case in point, this week while visiting a new tea spot, I watched a group of 4 friends spend 15 minutes sitting next to each other never saying a word, each glued to their phones.  And they were not the only ones. As more and more people and groups shuffled into the spot, many people didn’t TALK to one another. While I did spend some time taking pictures of the environment, the tea presentation and food, I would quickly show them to my companion and we then put our devices away and savored the matcha before us. 

The world of tea is expanding as more people are learning about the art of tea. This summer Teahouse Kuan Yin, my first tea school, closed their physical location, and I grieved. Over the years it, and I, changed, yet I will always be grateful to Miranda and Frank for opening the teahouse, to Jim and Marcus for keeping it going, to the numerous employees who have have served me some excellent tea, and to all the people who have joined me there for hours of deep, meaningful and transformative conversations.  Thank you all.   

Marcus Aurelius and Metta Meditation & Matcha from American Tearoom

My friends and family know me so well - the way to my heart is through my senses. For Chanukah, I received a beautiful glass matcha bowl accompanied by a tin of organic matcha from the AMERICAN TEA*ROOM, a company that is new to me, but one I am sure I will be purchasing from soon. While I tend not to be a fan of glass containers for matcha, preferring the feel and the taste that comes from clay bowls, this new vessel has me pleasantly surprised. For one, it is larger than the small glass (often double walled) cups that hold a single serving. As large as many of my other ceremonial matcha bowls, the size and delicate nature of the glass invited a more mindful and gentle handling with both hands. The matcha itself was gorgeously green, and easily whisked into a frothy, bright green foam. On the tongue it was pleasantly bright and smooth, without much bitterness.

With all that is going on in the world, here and abroad, students and patients keep asking me, "How can you find any peace right now? How do you not react with anger and hatred?" Of course, this is a tad presumptuous. During the past few months, especially during the second week of this past November, I struggled with my Metta meditation practice. Daily I would remind myself how every living being has the exact same fundamental longings and desires - to be safe, to be happy, to be healthy and to live in ease. Each of us reach for that goal in differing ways. For some, a wall will keep them safe, while others view that as a recipe for further separation and suffering. 

 While sipping my new matcha, I was reintroduced to the cherished wisdom of Marcus Aurelius, and was shocked to read how timely his words remain.  Thank you Brain Pickings for the reminder.  

When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: The people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly. They are like this because they can't tell good from evil. But I have seen the beauty of good, and the ugliness of evil, and have recognized that the wrongdoer has a nature related to my own - not the same blood or birth, but the same mind, and possessing a share of the divine. And so none of them can hurt me. No one can implicate me in ugliness. Nor can I feel angry at my relative, or hate him. We were born to work together like feet, hands, and eyes, like the two rows of teeth, upper and lower. To obstruct each other is unnatural. To feel anger at someone, to turn your back on him: these are obstructions.   

Today, I recite my meditation: May we all be happy, may we all be healthy, may we all be free from danger, may we all live in ease.