You’ve probably heard of the health benefits of green tea by now, but have you heard of matcha green tea? Matcha is a finely ground powder made from green tea leaves. Someone once described the difference between a green tea bag and matcha powder to me as this, ‘Imagine you’re boiling a pot of spinach, then you throw away the spinach and drink the water. Sure, you’ll get some of the health benefits of spinach but you’re throwing away the best part’. That is what we do every time we brew a cup of green tea, the goodness is in the leaves which are kept in the teabag, yet we throw that away and just drink the water.
With matcha there is no tea bag so you drink the whole leaf, which are the finest green tea leaves stoneground into a fine powder. This means we don’t throw away any of the nutrients or lose any health benefits. Matcha is stronger than most green teas, so you only need half a teaspoon per cup of Matcha. There are many ways you can drink Matcha, you can even cook with it. My favourite are matcha lattes where frothy milk is added to matcha tea. You can also drink it as a tea by dissolving 1/2 tsp in hot water, or let it cool then add ice to make an iced tea, or make a matcha latte and let it cool and add ice to make an iced matcha latte. I’ve also had matcha porridge, cake, ice cream, chocolate, smoothies and muffins. It is such a versatile powder and the health benefits of matcha are pretty impressive.
The health benefits of Matcha
Matcha has more antioxidants as green tea, it is high in amino acids, flavanoids and has more caffeine than green tea due to matcha not losing any of the tea leaf. These properties have several health benefits which can help to:
- Boost metabolism and fat-burning.
- Calm the mind but increase focus and concentration, otherwise known as an ‘alert-calm’.
- Lower cholesterol.
- Regulate blood sugar.
- Aid in detoxification and eliminating heavy metals.
- Reduce inflammation and free radicals
- Provide a rich source of fiber, vitamins and chlorophyll.
Lately I’ve been drinking Pure Matcha by EatCleanTea. They only use the finest green tea leaves to make their stoneground matcha powder. EatCleanTea’s green tea leaves are shaded during harvest so that they produce more chlorophyll and have 137x the level of antioxidants as green tea. I’ve included a recipe for my favourite way of drinking matcha tea, a matcha latte. I used coconut milk in this recipe, but you can swap it for almond or rice milk.
- 2 sccops of EatCleanTea Matcha or 1/2 tsp of your own matcha
- 50ml coconut milk or unsweetened almond or rice milk
- 1/2 tsp honey (optional)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 200ml hot water
- Pour hot water into a mug and add 2 scoops of EatCleanTea matcha using the provided scoop.
- Whisk until the matcha is fully dissolved with no remaining lumps using a milk frother.
- In a separate cup combine the coconut milk with the vanilla extract and honey if using. Whisk together with the milk frother until frothy.
- Pour the frothy milk mixture into the matcha mix.
- Enjoy!
Have you tried matcha before? What is your favourite way to drink it? Have you noticed any of the health benefits of matcha since drinking it? Let us know in the comments below.
I was gifted matcha tea by Eat Clean Tea for review purposes, but my opnions are always honest. That is my promise to you.
I love this post! I have been looking into Match Green Tea for a while and I think I may just get some… Also the printable and just layout of this post is beaut!
Kenzie x
http://www.lemonaidlies.co.uk
Author
Ah thank you Kenzie! Definitely try Matcha tea. If you like green tea you’ll like matcha and it’s so good for you x
I love the description of the difference between a green tea bag and matcha powder! I’ve tried Teapigs matcha before but not made a latte so will have to get some more to give it a go :)
Author
Thank you Beki! A matcha latte is sweeter and is a great alternative to a hot chocolate :) x
I love green tea but still not got myself into Matcha as much as I would like.
Leonie ♥ Lo On The Go
Author
Ooh try making a matcha latte or adding matcha to smoothies or food to get used to the taste. Or perhaps try using less, you only need 1/4 to 1/2 a teaspoon x
I’ve never tried matcha as I’ve always been a little unsure of it but I think you may have convinced me to finally try it, especially since it has so many wonderful health benefits! I also love the description here about the difference between green tea and matcha powder, it’s perfect!
Nicole xxx
http://www.gingerkitchen.co.uk
Author
Thanks you Nicole! If you like green tea then definitely give matcha a go, it’s so good for you. Making it as a matcha latte is a nice alternative to hot chocolate too, especially when you make it quite milky and frothy x
I love Matcha Ice Cream. I could eat it everyday. Victoria – London Escorts
I love Matcha! Will be sharing this post :-)
Author
Thanks so much Nikki! :D
Thank you for sharing. Would we be able to repost on vowstrength.com with your credits?
Author
Hi Vow Strength, thank you for asking but I’d rather you did not repost it. Thanks.