Usucha is made by pouring hot water over a small quantity of matcha and whisking it to a light foam. Each guest receives their own bowl. It closes a full gathering, and it is also the whole of what is served at a large open tea gathering — making it the most familiar form of matcha.
When it is served
At a full gathering, thin tea comes at the end, after the meal, the first charcoal, thick tea, and the second charcoal, and its function is to release the concentration the earlier stages have built. At large gatherings it stands alone as a single sitting. In lessons it is the first procedure a beginner learns, because the fundamentals are all present in it.
What happens
The host lifts matcha with the scoop into the bowl, pours hot water, and whisks with a fine, rapid motion. Unlike thick tea it is made one bowl at a time, and the quality of the foam is where an individual host's hand shows. The tea container and scoop are then offered for examination. Selecting a different bowl for each guest is one of the ways a host acknowledges people individually.
For a first-time guest
Take the bowl with both hands, turn it twice so as not to drink from its front, drink in three or four mouthfuls, wipe the rim, turn the front back toward the host, and return it. Finishing the tea is expected. A slight sound on the last mouthful is conventional rather than rude.
Sources
- 薄茶（日本大百科全書 / 飲み物がわかる辞典 / 百科事典マイペディア） / コトバンク
Supports: 一服あたり抹茶約1.2〜1.7g程度を使い、濃茶と違って泡立てて点てること。客一人分ずつ別の茶碗で点てて出し、濃茶のように回し飲みしないこと
About this article
Edited by the operator of Chaen (a one-person operation) / Last updated:
Tea ceremony descriptions can vary by school and source. Where interpretations differ, this glossary avoids definitive claims and focuses on broadly shared understandings. If you notice an error, please let us know viaContact. To learn about our organization, seeAbout Chaen.
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Ippuku — whisk matcha in your browserMove the whisk to raise the foam, then follow how a guest drinksTerm info
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Related terms
- Koicha (thick tea)koicha
Matcha kneaded with a little water into a thick paste, traditionally shared from a single bowl; the centre of a full gathering.
- Chasen (tea whisk)chasen
A whisk cut from a single piece of bamboo, used to mix matcha with water; treated as a consumable.
- Natsume (thin-tea container)natsume
The standard lacquered container for thin tea, named after the jujube fruit it resembles.
- Matchamatcha
Shade-grown green tea leaf stone-ground to a fine powder, whisked into water rather than steeped.