This earthy tasting ancient ceremonial green tea packs an enormous boost of health benefits. Matcha has gained major recognition in the last few years, becoming a trendy drink that’s even worthy of a menu spot at mega chain coffee shops throughout the United States. If you’re a caffeine lover who’s developed a sensitivity to it’s jittery or sometimes anxiety causing effects in your older age (raises hand) matcha just might be your new morning best friend.
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What Is Matcha?
Matcha is a finely powdered form of green tea that’s been used in Japan during tea ceremonies for centuries. Matcha has a vibrant green color and tastes a bit grassy, but in the most delicious way.
Though Matcha is created with the same Camellia sinensis plant as green tea, it’s grown and harvested slightly different. Prior to harvesting the plant is covered with shade cloths to promote leaves with better flavor and texture. This method creates higher chlorophyll content and amino acids in the plant for more health benefits.
Traditional Matcha is made with 3/4 cups of hot water (not yet brought to a boil) and mixed in a shallow dish with a bamboo whisk.
Matcha Health Benefits
Matcha is packed with even more health benefits than traditional green tea because when drinking you’re consuming the actual plant instead of steeped tea leaves. This ancient tea is packed with an antioxidant called polyphenols that aids in boosting the metabolism, protecting against heart disease and cancer, regulating blood pressure and blood sugar, and anti-aging.
Chlorophyll water had a major moment last year thanks to tiktok- something you may not know? Match tea is the original chlorophyll water. The process of shading the plants prior to harvesting allows a higher boost of this natural compound to form in the leaves. Read about the health benefits of chlorophyll here.
Matcha has the same amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee but instead of creating a jittery/ anxious energy it creates a focused calm effect. In fact, matcha has been used in Zen meditation for centuries. The calming effect of matcha is due to the L-theanine found in the tea leaves. L-theanine is responsible for producing alpha waves and releasing calming chemicals in the brain.
Matcha is also high in antioxidants helping to protect the cells free radicals that can cause chronic illness like cancer and heart disease.
Magic Matcha Latte
Ingredients
- 1/4 Cup Hot Water
- 3/4 Cup Oat Milk
- 1 Tsp Matcha
- 1 Tbsp Unflavored Collagen Powder
- 1 Tbsp Raw Honey
Instructions
- Whisk in matcha powder to 1/4 cup of hot water
- Pour in 3/4 cup of seamed oat milk or preferred milk of choice (I choose oat milk because it gives an ultra creamy taste)
- Stir in raw honey and collagen powder
