Raw matcha macaroons

The traditional method stays truest to the product: one to two level spoons of sifted powder, a little water at 70-80 °C and certainly not boiling, then brisk whisking in a W motion until it foams. Water that is too hot burns the tea and brings out the bitterness. For everyday use, the latte version, with hot or cold plant milk poured over the base, suits those who find pure matcha off-putting. And in cooking, as in this recipe, it goes straight into the preparation without being brewed at all.

Matcha contains caffeine, in an amount comparable to a light coffee, but released more slowly thanks to L-theanine. Late in the day it can therefore make falling asleep harder for sensitive people. On an empty stomach, its acidity and tannins sometimes trouble fragile stomachs: better to have it after a snack. Finally, its tannins limit the absorption of plant iron, so it is wiser to keep it one or two hours away from a meal rich in pulses or green vegetables if you are watching that intake.

In practice these are two names for the same thing: a paste made by grinding sesame seeds. The nuance lies in the detail. Middle Eastern tahini is usually made from hulled seeds, which gives a pale, fluid, mild paste. Wholegrain sesame paste, more common in European health food shops, keeps the hull: it is darker, thicker and more bitter, and brings more calcium. Both work for these macaroons, but the hulled version lets the matcha come through better.