Matcha Latte: A Baked Joint, Washington DC
- readingtheleaf
- Apr 15, 2017
- 2 min read
Gustatory: strong with just a hint of sweetness, smooth
I was recently in DC and had a matcha latte at A Baked Joint. I first went to Souk on 8th St. SE, but they were out of their matcha, so I ended up getting my green concoction at A Baked Joint when I found myself at 4th NW and K.
My drink of choice at any cafe is a hot matcha tea or latte (sometimes they’re served iced)...when I can find it. Though matcha can sometimes be hard to come by, I’ve been seeing it become more and more readily available (see my post from earlier this week about matcha from Sydney in Providence, RI). I ask to get my lattes made with almond milk as I’m lactose intolerant, but partly-skimmed, whole, and soy milks are also usually available.
Matcha can sometimes taste a bit bitter. As a result, like other lattes, matcha lattes oftentimes come sweetened (I’ve come across agave, simple syrup, and your run-of-the mill cane sugar as possible sweeteners); other times the soy/almond milk used is pre-sweetened. Ultimately check with your barista before placing your order if the level of sweetness or potential bitterness is a concern.
Matcha is a delicately ground green tea which is traditionally prepared by being whisked in water with a chasen in a bowl. Drinking matcha – notably by monks – goes back to 12th century China and Japan, and different amounts of powder and water (at a just-before-boiling temperature) are used to make various preparations – “thin” or “thick” – of this tea. It can then be enjoyed directly from its bowl, with a small sweet sometimes eaten right before to mitigate the taste of the matcha. (I have yet to come across a matcha latte served in a bowl, but this would be great!) Quite high in caffeine, matcha is also different from other forms of green tea as the leaves are grown in the shade 3 weeks before being harvested. The leaves are then deveined and destemmed when harvested; matcha is made from crushing these leaves.
A Baked Joint’s matcha was sweet with a very smooth finish (no powdery aftertaste). The matcha-to-milk ratio was how I like it too – slightly more matcha tea than milk. Overall a really nice drink…especially when paired with smoked salmon on a baguette (loaded with roasted capers) and Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime.
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