Like a new piece of furniture which you’re unsure will fit in your home, experimenting with a new ingredient can feel a bit risky when cooking. Getting the pieces to fit together can of be a bit of a challenge, but the joy of uniting these seemingly separate worlds to create harmony is something we love at Wayfair, which is why today we’re tackling the famous Japanese green tea powder: Matcha.

Even though matcha has been used for centuries in Japan and China, it has only recently stepped onto the world stage due to its health benefits and deeply satisfying flavours. Traditionally, matcha is known for vegetal and astringent notes that are followed by a lingering sweetness. However, in cooking, the taste is far subtler and more closely resembles a green tea. Mastering its use in the kitchen can open up tons of possibilities for the everyday chef and we’ve assembled some of our favourite recipes to help you get started.

If matcha is starting to sound like your cup of tea, here are a few recipes so you can start kicking your flavours up a notch.

Image: honey&date

Getting the Ball Rolling

Carmen Ngan, founder of London’s honey&date patisserie, first began by watching her mother cook for her and her siblings in Malaysia, though only began cooking once she moved to England. Her love of experimentation brought her to the famous cooking school Le Cordon Bleu and, after learning more about the science of baking, Carmen began incorporating more south-east Asian flavours like yuzu, pandan and matcha into her dishes.

Not one to be limited by recipes, Carmen likes to leave a bit of room for creative freedom whenever it strikes. She will often incorporate nuts, freeze-dried fruits and edible fresh flowers into her creations as part of her growing interest in raw sweet products. When we asked her how she first got inspired to create her matcha recipe, Carmen explained her fascination with the widespread use of matcha in Japanese products. Matcha is a key component in a variety of products from chocolate to ice cream—and our personal favourite, mochi!

Carmen’s top tip for using matcha? Go with the high quality stuff! Lower quality matcha can be very bitter and unappetising where high-quality matcha will have a subtle and soothing flavour which makes it ideal for combining with other flavours! In the recipe she shares with us, Carmen fills a nut and date shell with fresh raspberry jam and rolls it in matcha, completing her Matcha Ball recipe.

If Carmen has charmed you with this recipe, be sure to pay honey&date a visit next time you’re in London!

Image: honey&date

***Carmen’s favourite kitchen gadget? ***

“Definitely my blender and food processor (I couldn't choose which I prefer out of the two!). Raw cooking is all about texture and consistency, as I don't use an oven or hob to cook, melt, soften, etc. To make my raw cakes, for example, I make the base in the food processor to break down the nuts, but not too much as I still want them to have some crunch. For the creamy cashew layers I use the blender to really break the cashews down to a smooth and creamy cashew cream—delicious!”

Image: The Little Plantation

A Matcha Made in Heaven

The Little Plantation, run by Kimberly Espinel, is a blog that caters to lovers of food, nutrition, wellness and photography. She began her adventures in food once she became a parent and grew increasingly interested in nutrition. Plant-based recipes take centre-stage in her cooking and she focuses on making the most out of local and seasonal fruits and vegetables.

Her creative process usually begins with a central ingredient, which she describes as “the star of the show,” and then starts to build her recipe around the flavours she wants to highlight. Once the basics have been decided, this talented chef starts selecting colour palates and choosing between backdrops, cutlery and decoration for visual impact. After all, we eat with our eyes!

Looking to add depth and unique flavours to her desserts, Kimberly’s familiarity with teas and their properties made the move to matcha a very organic one. Since matcha has a distinct and delicate flavour, Kimberly recommends adding only small quantities at first. Going bit by bit will avoid overpowering your other ingredients and since matcha will make an uncooked batter darken during baking, it’s another reason for moderation! Here’s Kimberly’s Vegan Matcha Pistachio Tres Leches Cake.

Image: The Little Plantation

Kimberly’s favourite kitchen gadget?

“Without a speckle of a doubt my high speed blender. I use it pretty much every day and would consider it a life-changer because it helped me kick-start my healthy, plant-based journey some four years ago now. I am not sure what I'd do without it!“

Image: The Sweetest Kitchen

Flavours Down to a Tea

The Sweetest Kitchen chef first began by sifting flour for Christmas cookies many years ago in her mother’s kitchen before graduating to the “al dente” kitchen of her father. Taking that love of al dente pasta with her, Jamieanne kept on experimenting in the kitchen until she had effectively developed her own style in the world of baking. Drawing from childhood memories and everyday experiences for inspiration, she loves to keep things free and fun, some days using measuring bowls and on others relying on her instincts. For her, baking and cooking is about relaxing, but also about getting to enjoy what she loves most!

Jamieanne’s experience with matcha is extensive, having already experimented with it long before the growth in its popularity. Drawing inspiration from one of her first matcha recipes, Matcha Strawberry Cupcakes, the recipe has evolved into the heat-busting popsicles we have for you today. However, when using matcha in your recipes, Jamieanne cautions that some varieties are better than others. She looks for high-grade matcha that is bright green, fine and is able to dissolve well. Poorer quality matcha can be a dull green colour that leaves clumps in your foods, something, she emphasises, you don’t want!

Image: The Sweetest Kitchen

Jamieanne’s favourite kitchen gadget?

“This is a hard question to answer as I love so many kitchen items! I keep coming back to one, though, and that's the whisk. I just love the way they look and they remind me of vintage kitchens, which I also love. They're quite fun to use (if not tiring, while whipping up cream or egg whites!). Whether it's for stirring together dry ingredients like flour and cocoa powder, mixing a bowl of pancake batter, or whisking up some frosting, the whisk has got to be my favorite!”

Image: Rebel Recipes

So Matcha to Love

If you have a little bit of a rebellious side, then you might just fall for Niki Webster of Rebel Recipes. Dedicated to the healthy food movement since her teenage years, Niki follows a plant-based diet that consists mainly of fruits, vegetables and superfoods like nuts and seeds. She finds inspiration from the numerous resources either online or in print and puts her own spin on them to ensure they balance taste and healthiness.

No stranger to matcha, Niki regularly adds it to breakfasts or desserts for taste and added punch, though the health benefits certainly don’t hurt! True to form, the Rebel chef shares her nutritionally dense, flavour-packed Raw Kiwi Matcha and Lime Cheesecake Slices recipe with us!

Bonus: Cheesecake for vegans—yum!

Niki’s favourite kitchen gadget?

My food processor—I use it for everything!