Matcha Addict - Jenki, London

Oh my! 

Jenki is a hipster 'matcha bar' in London's touristy Spitalfields Market. But it's one of maybe three (?) matcha outlets in the entire city, so I felt I had to give it a go. 

I excitedly ordered an iced matcha latte, which cost me £4. (S$8 / US$5)

Sadly the go-to (again!) for this was soy or oat milk (which are trendy in the UK) and I had to specify cow's milk. But OK.

The Verdict: It tastes just like iced milk! I could not detect any matcha at all in this drink and had to add sugar just to get some flavour from it. I mean it looks great. Nice colour green (usually a sign of quality) and gradient. Plus it sounded great on the website. But I have no idea why people would purchase this stuff, when you can have a very nice cup of milk and ice at home! 

Tbh a spectacular case of style over substance (plus what I find a depressing acceptance by Europeans for inauthentic Japanese things as the 'real deal'!) Am not surprised this place was full (not of Asians!) given its design and location. But really, avoid and take your cash elsewhere!

 

 

Jenki: https://www.jenki.co.uk/

Matcha Addict - DIY Matcha Latte in London!

In an endless quest to get my fix of the excellent Green, I purchased this affordable matcha powder in an Asian food store in London. 

Two things to note here: 

1) There are different grades of matcha powder, ranging from high-end (usually bright green) delicious, to low-end (often a sludgier brown) which might be more suited for cooking. Yes matcha biscuits, pastries, puddings, cakes and all sorts exist too! Generally you get what you pay for.

2) A lot of 'Japanese' and 'Korean' things sold in the UK are actually Chinese. This applies to almost everything, including restaurants. And most times UK people don't know the difference. This especially applies if the Asian product is affordable or on the high street. 

You can buy reasonably authentic matcha powder in London. But it will cost you! Usually you're looking at around £8-10 for 100g. Which I haven't been able to justify budget-wise yet, especially as I'm not very expert at making the tea myself. So when I saw this on sale for £1.98 it seemed stupid not to try it. 

It's Chinese. And I was not expecting great quality for the price! 

The powder is a sludgy olive green. Low grade! (And does resemble green paint pigment, which I hope it's not.) And the flavour is very bitter, without creaminess. It took me several tries to get the balance of milk, powder, sugar, water optimised for a latte. And I don't have a fancy frother or whisk. But then it was perfectly drinkable in small doses! I say small doses because more than 1 cup gave me headaches, as coffee would. (High quality matcha does not.) Or could it be the paint powder aspect kicking in...?

The verdict: really not bad. Probably meant for cooking, not drinking. But a reasonable 1 cup/day fix if you're desperate - for a very good price. And tbh I suspect this is what many London cafes use when they serve matcha. 

Not sure I'd buy it again because of the headache factor, but it gave me a good chance to experiment with DIY matcha lattes. I might lash out on a better quality, Japanese, powder now I know how. It would still be considerably cheaper than the whopping prices London cafes charge for matcha drinks!

 

Looks a little more minty here than irl!

Matcha Addict - Japan House, London

Well, I've been generally uninspired living in London (over a pandemic) so not been blogging about cultural things much. 

As things vaguely reopen here, I have managed to pop out and try occasional matcha drinks, though. So here to follow is a possible slew of drink reviews! 

First up is first-drunk. The hot matcha latte from London's (overrated) Japan House. I visited for the first time, to see an exhibition, and maybe get some authentic Japanese inspo in Europe. The space is basically an expensively-priced, sparse, retail outlet of Japanese things for tourists, and some un-cosy seating. Even London's Japan Centre is exciting by comparison! (And it's not exciting.) Plus the JH exhibition was meh. But they DO have a drinks bar serving matcha and occasional Japanese sweets.

This mid-sized latte came in at around £4 (S$8 / US$5) No pretentious 'coconut rice milk' etc mucking around, just regular cow's milk = good (I guess you can ask for alternatives if you're vegan, lactose intolerant blah blah). 

The verdict: Drinkable. Tastes like decent matcha as-made-in-the-UK (not creamy bitter like the Asian offerings, but a passable tea). I wouldn't go back to pay this price for it. 

Japan House, London: https://www.japanhouselondon.uk/