Making the perfect cup of matcha ¡ª the frothy green tea served during Japanese tea ceremonies ¡ª requires skill. The trick is to use a bamboo whisk to whip the brew swiftly with a smooth back-and-forth motion of the wrist.

¡°Work quickly and keep whisking until the tea reaches the consistency of a meringue,¡± instructed master green tea blender Ryozo Taniguchi, speaking at a Japanese tea workshop that I moderated recently at the Culinary Institute of America in California¡¯s Napa Valley.

The session was part of the cooking school¡¯s annual Worlds of Flavor conference that took place in late April and was focused on Asian cuisine.