So naturally, I thought it’d be fun to try my hand at an evening drink for February’s edition of Matcha Monthly.

For the base, I used a bottle of Kazuki Gin from my favourite distillery in Canada, Sheringham. They’re located on Vancouver Island, and they have since renamed it to Beacon Gin. But it still boasts the same delightful floral and citrus kick, with just a hint of green tea for that herbal, botanical flair. And what else is green? Matcha.

Here’s what you need and how you can also make a matcha gin and tonic. Warning: drinking this at 10pm will keep you awake for a couple of hours, so maybe try it during happy hour instead!

Equipment

• Matcha bowl & whisk

• Sifter

• Measuring cup or scale

• Cocktail shaker

• Jigger

• Serving glass (around 350ml)

Ingredients

• 3g matcha powder

• 30ml of honey, preferably liquid

• Hot water - 35ml for the matcha, another 30ml for the honey

• 1-2 limes

• 2 oz of gin

• 150ml tonic water

• Ice cubes

How to make a matcha gin & tonic

1. Make the honey syrup by adding 30ml of hot water to 30ml of honey and stir.

2. Prepare the matcha shot by sifting 3g of matcha powder into a bowl, adding 35ml of hot water, and whisk.

3. Prepare your serving glass by adding ice cubes (half the glass is fine). You can add the tonic water now or later.

4. Add some ice cubes to your cocktail shaker, and then add 2oz of gin, the matcha shot, the honey syrup, and freshly-squeezed lime juice.

5. Shake with some flair for a couple of seconds over your shoulder, under the table, behind your back ~

6. Pour the mixture into your serving glass. Add your tonic water here if you haven’t already.

7. Add some more ice cubes if you want, and garnish with a lil lime.

8. Sip!

Thanks for reading! Sorry that I’m a little late for this month’s edition, but it technically is still 28th February here in Vancouver. For March’s Matcha Monthly, I’ll be attempting something a little (or a lot) more ambitious 👀 Stay tuned for that one, and I hope to get it out by the middle of the month!

There was some denial, initially, since the message was followed with a link to r/Fauxmoi, and I so desperately wanted the news to be a recreation of the Schitt’s Creek episode, RIP Moira Rose (S04E05), where Moira Rose’s death was a hoax. Then, there was profound sadness. I had most recently watched her play a Hollywood executive in Apple TV’s The Studio, and Schitt’s Creek was a series that I’ll occasionally get back into; like many people, it’s one of my comfort shows that I can find solace in, no matter my mood.

Throughout the day, I’ve kept up with the multitude of tributes to her legacy. Macaulay Culkin and Dan Levy’s Instagram posts made me cry on the R5 bus. The Chicago O’Hare airport, the terminals of which Catherine ran through in Home Alone, tweeted in remembrance of her role in Home Alone.

In one Reddit post, someone said, “Rest in Peace Catherine O’Hara, a mother to Millennials everywhere.” That hit me. Catherine had played two iconic matriarchs - Kate McCallister and Moira Rose - who have guided a generation of millennials (and more) on the silver screen and its little sibling. And today, we just lost our TV mom.

I’m not going to sit here and wax lyrical about Catherine O’Hara’s legacy or the impact she has had on me and my relationship. Instead, I’m resurfacing an essay I wrote 6 years ago for Lifestyle Asia Singapore when the Schitt’s Creek finale aired on TV. I’ve edited it slightly as I hope my writing has improved a little since 2020, but only barely. Here’s to you, Catherine O’Hara, a mother to all millennials who have been so privileged to grow up watching you.

‘Schitt’s Creek’ is the brightest sitcom in the darkest night

A happy ending is hard to come by on television these days.

After the trainwreck that was Game of Thrones’ last season, I was nervous going into the series finale of the sitcom Schitt’s Creek. But as the credits rolled, I sat in my chair for a couple of minutes, appreciating the rollercoaster ride of emotions that showrunners Eugene and Daniel Levy have set me on for six seasons.

No conclusion to a television series has made me laugh as loud while choking back the most tears. And judging by the finale’s response on the Internet, I wasn’t the only one wishing this experience didn’t end.

Now, I’m not the biggest fan of sitcoms, and my following through with one till the end is an occasion rarer than a pink supermoon. But there was something about the way in which Schitt’s Creek approached the format that had me obsessed from the get-go.

Perhaps it was the promise of a landscape that wasn’t a drab office with four walls or the dry humour that was totally on-brand with what I stood for. Either way, I’ve been following this show for years, and it’s about time it got the limelight it deserves.

Schitt’s Creek made its premiere in 2015 with a simple riches-to-rags premise: The wealthy Rose family had lost everything they owned – except for the title deed to a humdrum town they bought as a joke back in 1991. Johnny (Eugene Levy), Moira (Catherine O’Hara), David (Daniel Levy), and Alexis (Annie Murphy) now find themselves and their entire lives – or what was left of it – packed into two rundown motel rooms in the said town, Schitt’s Creek. A room in their former mansion might have had more space.

There is an initial wave of tension between the elitist Roses and the townies of Schitt’s Creek, but that softens after many barn parties and long drives to Amish villages. David befriends the owner of the motel, Stevie Budd (Emily Hampshire), while Moira joins the a capella group Jazzagals led by Jocelyn Schitt (Jennifer Robertson). But it wasn’t until the end of the third season and the beginning of the fourth that a switch was flipped, and the narrative of Schitt’s Creek ascended into a higher dimension.

It was no longer just a fish-out-of-water story. The Rose family was slowly learning how to become a family. Not just with each other, but also with the people of Schitt’s Creek.

Johnny and Stevie form an endearing mentor/mentee bond as he invests in the motel. The Jazzagals mourn the death of Moira (a case of #fakenews, thankfully). [Wow, can’t believe I mentioned the aforementioned RIP Moira Rose episode 6 years ago.] David, not one for public displays of affection, steps out of his comfort zone in a rare showing of his love for his boyfriend Patrick (Noah Reid). Alexis starts her own PR firm that livened the town with sold-out events like Single’s Week.

Each of the main characters slowly discovers a better version of themselves, and that’s great because that is what stories are supposed to do. But what makes Schitt’s Creek stand out from other sitcoms in the wild is its perfect balance between sardonic humour and sincerity. The Levys have mastered the art of championing real, worldly issues without diving into the depths of comedy hell, with tolerance and wit reigning supreme in this backwater town.

There is no tragic backstory or tokenism for the LGBTQ characters portrayed in Schitt’s Creek. Homophobia is a concept that doesn’t exist here, simply because Daniel Levy chose not to give that sort of negativity a platform. An example that defines the show’s attitude towards equality and acceptance was David’s pansexuality. “I like the wine and not the label,” he explained to Stevie. The succinct metaphor has since been used for real coming-out stories as told in the post-series documentary.

There is also no lack of viral, meme-worthy clips and extracts that cemented the show’s position in the hierarchy of popular culture. From Moira’s glamorous collection of wigs (every single one is named, BTW) to the pop banger “A Little Bit Alexis” that I just can’t get enough of. All that was made perfect for today’s age of social media consumption. It’s that easy to express yourself with an “Ew, David!” reaction GIF.

But beyond just the laughs, there are also heartfelt scenes that will tug so hard at your heartstrings. Who knew Patrick’s cover of an iconic Tina Turner song would inspire a new way for so many people to express their love? Or the Cabaret episode, where the aloof Stevie seized her fears by the throat and blossomed into a confident starlet who owns the stage. I’m not going to spoil any more of these tear-jerking scenes because you deserve to experience them for the first time as I did, caught unawares without a box of tissues by my side.

It’s a bit serendipitous that the series had to finish at a time when the world is going through so much grief and turmoil. I wish that there were more Schitt’s Creek episodes to look forward to next week because it’s one of the only things (besides food) that can make me laugh as hard as isolation would allow.

But at the end of the day, I found some comfort – no, a whole lot of it – in a story about a little town in the middle of nowhere. The story’s happily ever after also makes rewatching the show a lot easier, because there’s something to look forward to.

The Levys’ love story to the world was a small Canadian (?) town where smiling is made a little bit easier, and I hope that by sharing this gem of a show with you, it can make passing the days a little bit easier, too.

When I got back home, I immediately ordered a chawan, chasen, and my first tin of ceremonial-grade matcha from Amazon. I still have that chawan today, and it’s one of my favourite bowls for making matcha.

Fast forward 3 years with many cartons of oat milk and many tins of matcha later, I eventually found my default recipe: Earth’s Own Barista for iced lattes and Oatly Barista for hot lattes. As for the matcha, I’m a stern advocate for supporting local brands, and it’s a fact that Paragon Tea Room produces the best, most consistent ceremonial matcha (Ippodo Seiun comes at a close second, but buying it is more effort than it’s worth). So for those 3 years, I’ve been drinking the same thing: a simple matcha latte with agave syrup. I even bought the Morning Dream machine to help me steam milk better, as I did not have an espresso machine at home. Yes, it does steam milk better than a handheld milk frother or an Aeroccino.

So in 2026, I decided to do something for myself: I’ll experiment with a different matcha recipe every month. For January, I’ll be making a Biscoff Crunch Cream Matcha Latte (inspired by this recipe on matcha.com). Yes, I know there are only 4? 5? more days in the month. But I’ve already made this drink 3 times, and each time it was infinitely tastier than the last. This is also my first-ever post on Substack, and I didn’t want to take you all on this journey without being confident in this recipe.

Why Biscoff? I had a couple of cookies left over from the holidays, and I woke up one morning craving them. Plus, it seemed easy enough to combine some of my most beloved flavours: the caramel and cinnamon kick from Lotus Biscoff cookies, and the umami sweetness of matcha. Don’t ask me about the calorie count, though.

Okay, after word-vomiting all of that, I understand why recipe writers always have a novella preceding their recipes beyond the SEO gamification of their text. I also know most of you aren’t probably going to read all of that and just (probably) want to recreate this tasty drink that will and can replace a whole meal. Hopefully, I can find the inspiration and the drive to keep this going for 11 more months. Stay tuned, and thanks for reading if you’ve come this far!

Ingredients

For the matcha

• 3g matcha powder

• 50ml hot water (175f)

• 120ml oat milk (barista)

• 1 tbsp Biscoff spread (softened in the microwave for 30s)

• Sweetener of your choice (I use 1ml/1g of matcha)

• 100-120ml of ice (depending on your glass)

For the Biscoff cream

• 3 tbsp heavy/whipping cream

• 1 tbsp Biscoff spread (softened in the microwave for 30s)

• 2 tbsp oat milk (barista)

• 1.5 Crushed Biscoff cookies and 1 not-crushed Biscoff cookie

How to make the drink

1. Combine oat milk (120ml), Biscoff spread (1 tbsp), and sweetener in a glass. Add ice only after you’ve combined the ingredients (the Biscoff spread will rapidly coagulate back into a more solid form).

2. Make your matcha (3g) by sifting it into a bowl, adding hot water (50ml) and sweetener (3g or your choice), and whisk. Pour matcha over the milk and Biscoff mixture.

3. Froth the heavy/whipping cream (3 tbsp), Biscoff spread (1 tbsp), and oat milk (2 tbsp) together in another glass. Pour over the matcha and Biscoff milk mixture.

4. Top it off with the crushed Biscoff cookie crumbs and the not-crushed Biscoff cookie.

5. Stir well before drinking!