The Jade Peach

This summerly cocktail fully embraces the richness of nature by merging peach & matcha green tea

This summerly cocktail fully embraces the richness of nature by merging peach & matcha green tea

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The idea

Similar to the previous cocktail creation, Immortals’ Nectar, this one is featuring a fruit rooted in the summertime season. It carries not only the promise of those sunny days when a warm breeze and the scent of rich flora are lulling you into relaxant procrastination but also of longevity as one of the “Three Blessed Fruits” in Buddhism. No need to go tropical, a taste of the widespread peach is just perfect to experience this burst of juicy, tender, fragrant, sun-kissed sweetness. The inherent seduction of this fruit and the urge to share it have been lyrically captured as 分桃 “Bitten Peach” a long time ago which recently got a passionate, Italian update in “Call Me By Your Name” ^^.

Instead of balancing the peach liqueur with citrusy juice (as classical Sidecar types or refreshing highballs like the “Fuzzy Navel” & “Woo Woo” would) the Yin to the Yang was found in an East Asian specialty – matcha green tea. With its deep, slightly bitter flavor it can easily tame the sweetness and on the other hand, unlock its own fruity potential. But what makes the combination of peach & matcha so promising is that the subtle grassy & floral notes of the peach (belonging to the family of rose plants) naturally connect to those of the green tea.

Golden, a few years in wooden barrels matured rum as base spirit is a great fit here: it adds freshness with sugar cane and a hint of citrus, but also some grounding due to its mild, woody notes. Metaphorically speaking, drinking this cocktail lets you become one with flourishing nature as a whole: climbing the mighty stem, merging with the precious leaves, while embracing the fresh fruit. Finally, the additional creamy note of vanilla syrup efficiently supports the connection of rum & peach with matcha.

How to create it

  • 0. Step: secure coldness

    Put your cocktail glass (e.g. nick & nora or small coupette) in the fridge.

  • 1. Step: muddle peach

    Cut a peach wedge and muddle it inside the shaker. Juice should be squeezed out.

  • 2. Step: whisk tea powder

    Diffuse the matcha powder in the rum inside a ceramic bowl, using a traditional Japanese bamboo chasen or a small standard whisk. Apply fast zigzag movement while some foamy texture appears on the surface.

  • 3. Step: mix all

    Put the rum-matcha pairing, the sugar syrup & the liqueur into a shaker and shake well with ice.

  • 4. Step: serve & enjoy

    Fine strain into your chilled cocktail glass and add a cute slice of peach as garnishing.

Recipe

  • 30ml golden rum (e.g. Havana Club 3)
  • 22.5ml peach liqueur (e.g. Peachtree)
  • 7.5ml vanilla syrup (e.g. Monin)
  • 1 small peach wedge (yellow)
  • 1/2 bar spoon matcha powder (e.g. Isuzu)
  • 4 x golden rum
  • 3 x peach liqueur
  • 1 x peach juice 
  • 1 x sugar syrup
  • 1/2 barspoon matcha powder

Recipe

  • 30ml golden rum (e.g. Havana Club 3)
  • 22.5ml peach liqueur (e.g. Peachtree)
  • 7.5ml vanilla syrup (e.g. Monin)
  • 1 small peach wedge (yellow)
  • 1/2 bar spoon matcha powder (e.g. Isuzu)
Questioning an ingredient? Try recipe variations

How to create it

  • 0. Step: secure coldness

    Put your cocktail glass (e.g. nick & nora or small coupette) in the fridge.

  • 1. Step: muddle peach

    Cut a peach wedge and muddle it inside the shaker. Juice should be squeezed out.

  • 2. Step: whisk tea powder

    Diffuse the matcha powder in the rum inside a ceramic bowl, using a traditional Japanese bamboo chasen or a small standard whisk. Apply fast zigzag movement while some foamy texture appears on the surface.

  • 3. Step: mix all

    Put the rum-matcha pairing, the sugar syrup & the liqueur into a shaker and shake well with ice.

  • 4. Step: serve & enjoy

    Fine strain into your chilled cocktail glass and add a cute slice of peach as garnishing.

The idea behind

Similar to the previous cocktail creation, Immortals’ Nectar, this one is featuring a fruit rooted in the summertime season. It carries not only the promise of those sunny days when a warm breeze and the scent of rich flora are lulling you into relaxant procrastination but also of longevity as one of the “Three Blessed Fruits” in Buddhism. No need to go tropical, a taste of the widespread peach is just perfect to experience this burst of juicy, tender, fragrant, sun-kissed sweetness. The inherent seduction of this fruit and the urge to share it have been lyrically captured as 分桃 “Bitten Peach” a long time ago which recently got a passionate, Italian update in “Call Me By Your Name” ^^.

Instead of balancing the peach liqueur with citrusy juice (as classical Sidecar types or refreshing highballs like the “Fuzzy Navel” would) the Yin to the Yang was found in an East Asian specialty – matcha green tea. With its deep, slightly bitter flavor it can easily tame the sweetness and on the other hand, unlock its own fruity potential. But what makes the combination of peach & matcha so promising is that the subtle grassy & floral notes of the peach (belonging to the family of rose plants) naturally connect to those of the green tea.

Golden, a few years in wooden barrels matured rum as base spirit is a great fit here: it adds freshness with sugar cane and a hint of citrus, but also some grounding due to its mild, woody notes. Metaphorically speaking, drinking this cocktail lets you become one with flourishing nature as a whole: climbing the mighty stem, merging with the precious leaves, while embracing the fresh fruit. Finally, the additional creamy note of vanilla syrup efficiently supports the connection of rum & peach with matcha.

Good to know

Matcha (抹茶)

Matcha is made of specific shade-grown, unfermented green tea leaves, stone-grounded into an extremely fine powder. Although originally from China, cultivation has been brought to perfection in Japan. Thus, authentic matcha nowadays is Japanese.

It’s probably the healthiest tea type out there: fully packed with antioxidants (10 x more than regular green tea or pomegranate). One class, the catechins (esp. EGCg), is pretty unique to this precious product and contributes to preventing cancer. And with high amounts of the amino acid L-Theanine & caffeine, it will help you to slip into a state of focused relaxation similar to meditation.

Fresh matcha powder has a vibrant, almost luminous, jade-like green color. It always tastes creamy & rich with the characteristic underlying umami qualities. However, the flavor can range from bitter to rather sweet, from floral to rather fruity, from mild to intense. Tip: there is a tendency that cheaper matcha has more bitter flavors and more expensive ones provide a sweet mildness and increased umami.

Umami (うま味)

Besides sweetness, sourness, bitterness & saltiness there is actually a 5th basic taste – umami. The neologism was created in 1908 by the Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda and translates as “delicious savory taste”. He was the first to scientifically prove this flavor perception relates to specific amino acids (L-glutamate) + nucleotides.

Those chemical compounds have the ability to enhance the flavor of matching aromas, typically resulting in a pleasant “brothy” or “meaty” taste with a long-lasting, coating & mouth-watering sensation over the tongue. Products with naturally high umami qualities are fish, caved meat, mushrooms, specific vegetables (e.g. ripe tomatoes, spinach), breast milk, and… green tea (matcha).

Cocktail balance & variations

For the balance of the cocktail, the specific matcha product affecting the matcha-syrup-ratio is crucial. E.g. if you bought one with intense grassy-bitter notes, you better handle the amount with care and stick with the syrup amount recommendation. Otherwise, you can for sure reduce the syrup. (Isuzu is rather balanced but has a bitter-tart punch. Thus, more than just a drop of syrup is needed here, if you want to balance it out.)

Thanks to the peach wedge the peach flavor will be staged in a soft & extra-fresh way. If you don’t use it, you may increase the liqueur to 30ml to highlight the peach note. But the strong flavor & sweetness of the liqueur would already shine out more anyway.

Here is a straightforward, pretty sharp variation: use vanilla-flavored vodka instead of rum and even drop the syrup (resulting in 30ml vanilla vodka & 30ml peach liqueur). This will ultimately highlight both, peach & matcha while keeping the vanilla impression. Exciting but a bit harder to balance.

Looking for another fruitful matcha combination? Think about raspberry or pineapple!

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