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Matcha Soda

While some coffee shops have taken to offering the #PSL on their menus again, I am still holding onto the idea of summer. Even though it rained last night, I’m still hoping for a warm September because it’d be really nice to still get to enjoy the patio and iced drinks on the regular.

Matcha is one of those drinks that I’ve grown to love. I think part of the issue is that I’ve definitely have had matcha that doesn’t taste good, and then I had matcha that does. This is definitely one of those good ones. I wanted to make a tasty drink to have at home, something that could be iced, and I’ve been really enjoying sparkling water lately… So mixing my want to drink matcha and my need for iced, bubbly drinks meant that a Matcha Soda was born! And quickly had. This is so easy to make at home, you could easily eyeball the amounts instead of measuring it out and just make it to your taste – so simple! And if you layer it, the Matcha Soda looks impressive and will look great on your Instagram!

Matcha Soda – Serves 1

2 teaspoons matcha
150ml water (cold)
1-2 teaspoons simple syrup¹
250ml sparkling water
Ice cubes

¹ Simple syrup is super easy (simple!) to make. Put a 1:1 ratio of granulated sugar and water in a sauce pan and allow it to reach a simmer on your stove top. It’ll thicken into a sweet syrup after you take it off the heat and allow it to cool. I used about 2 teaspoons of simple syrup in my glass of Matcha Soda. Store your excess simple syrup in a jar in the fridge to enjoy – it’ll keep for a bit, but I usually use mine up within a week.

To start, add some ice to your glass.
Add some of the simple syrup (you can always add more later if it’s not sweet enough).
Add water and matcha into a jar, tighten the lid and shake!
Pour matcha on top of the ice.
Pour in the sparkling water.
Admire the layers!

If you make this Matcha Soda, I’d love to see your photos! Be sure to tag me on Instagram (@onemoresteep #onemoresteep) or comment below with a link to the photo!

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Making a Splash: Up Your Iced Tea Game

The weather is still warm, at least where I am, and there’s no better time than to up your iced tea game. I’ll be talking about how I prepare iced tea (and iced tisanes), and then how you can amplify the flavour by adding some simple ingredients to make it even better than it was before.

For me, iced tea/tisanes start quite simply. I scoop the dry leaf into the infuser portion of my pitcher (I use the Perfect Pitcher from DavidsTea) and I use basically about one-and-a-half times more dry leaf for iced tea than I would if I was making it as a hot tea. So if you normally use 1 teaspoon of dry leaf for a cup, use 1 and ½ teaspoon. It’s not an exact measurement, but it does make it a little bit stronger flavour wise before you start adding ice or other ingredients to it.

When making the tea base, this is the best time to add the sweetener. If you are cold steeping (or cold brewing), you can’t use regular sugar. Sugar will not dissolve in cold water – but other sweetener options do. Agave syrup and honey both do pretty well when dissolved into cold water. If you’re using heated water, sugar will dissolve. Basically, you’ll need to turn your sugar into a simple syrup at minimum if you want to use it in cold water.

Basic Simple Syrup: Heat equal parts granulated sugar and water in a sauce pan until it’s fully dissolved and simmers. You don’t want your simple syrup to boil or burn.

I tend to put a bit of ice into each cup, and fill it with the iced tea/tisane until it’s about ⅔ full. There’s a lot of things that you can top your iced tea with. You’ll need your favourite matcha (blended or traditional; I opted for a straight/traditional matcha), a lemon (or lemon juice from a bottle), and some sparkling water or pop (soda).

And here are the beautiful drinks – and each of them just add a little something to the glass of iced tea and really changing the flavour profile by making it a little bit more interesting.

First we’ve got iced tea with lemonade. I’ve used lemonade before in drinks such as the Arnold Palmer and Matcha Lemonade. In the middle, I added a ‘shot’ of matcha into my iced tea – a matcha shot is a small amount of matcha whisked up. It really adds that vibrant matcha flavour that I enjoy, and in turn the iced tea adds a nice level of sweetness to the matcha. At the end, I’ve got a lovely layered drink! This iced tea was topped off with unsweetened sparkling water. You can also do this with soda water or seltzer, but if it has sugar, it may not layer as nicely.

Fun Fact! The more sweet a liquid is, the more it’ll sink. So when trying to layer a drink, put the sweetest liquid in the glass first to help maintain some well-defined layers.

Have you tried any of these methods of upping your iced tea game before? Let me know in the comments below or tag me (@onemoresteep) in your iced tea photos on Instagram.

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Afternoon Tea vs High Tea

Did you know that afternoon tea and high tea are not the same thing?

Often used interchangeably today, the terms describe different meals. The one that is most often used for tea parties, baby & bridal showers, and hosted with all the fun cakes is afternoon tea.

Afternoon tea is a lighter meal, often served to the upper class and was at one point referred to as ‘low tea’ because of the lower table (think coffee table height). This meal consists of tea sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam, and sweets. Afternoon tea is, of course, served in the afternoon (approximately 3:30-5pm) as a way to tide you over between lunch and dinner.

Popularized by Anna Russell, Duchess of Bedford in the 1840s, she wanted the tea and cakes to fill her up until the very late supper time that was usually 7-8pm in the evening. Afternoon tea was also used as a social gathering, as it is today as well with the showers and parties. This is the one to dress up for with your dresses and fancy hats.

High tea is, you guessed it, served on a higher table and often a post-work meal for the working class. Because it’s a meal for people who often laboured away at work, the food served at high tea is often a lot heartier and heavier to provide the sustenance for those who’ve worked long hours  – think meat and potatoes. While still deliciously savoury, a high tea meal is not for those who are just looking to keep those hunger pains away until dinner.

Regardless of what you call it, the fancy tea parties in the afternoon are still a lot of fun! And as a lot of us are spending more time at home these days, it’s a fun away to bring your family together for a nice little sit-down meal and enjoy each others company.

There are a lot of recipes out there that could easily fill up your tiered cake stand and your delicate tea cups. Some fun recipes to round out your menu could include some Lemon & Cranberry Scones topped with Easy Chia Seed Jam, to be served next to your London Fog with Lavender Simple Syrup, of course.