What is Matcha Tea and Why I Drink It Everyday

Matcha Tea is amazing.

Why?

• 1 cup is the nutritional equivalent to drinking 10 cups of regular green tea
• it is a hard core cancer and disease fighter
• it has more antioxidants than goji berries, pomegranates and blueberries combined
• it boots metabolism and burns calories
• it helps the body naturally detox
• it reduces inflammation
• it calms your mind and increases concentration

So basically yes, you totally should be drinking it.

Matcha tea is in a powder form so you are actually consuming the entire tea leaf, not just the water that has been steeped in tea leaves like with regular brewed green tea. That's why it is so much higher in antioxidants. Studies have shown the antioxidants, particularly EGCg, in matcha tea especially effective for cancer prevention and reduced risk of heart disease.

Where do you buy Matcha Tea?
You can get matcha tea at your local heath food store, Whole Foods or search to order it online. Make sure you are buying "premium" or "ceremonial" as these are best for drinking. Also organic is preferred. If you see a bamboo whisk when you are buying the matcha buy it - you will use it to mix the powder with water. It isn't necessary but it does a better job mixing than a fork or spoon.

How do you make Matcha Tea?
Its easy. Boil water in your kettle and then let it sit and cool for about 5 minutes - you don't want to use boiling water as it will burn the tea. Put a teaspoon of matcha in the bottom of a large mug - I use a teaspoon of matcha but I worked my way up to that (the taste is going to be bitter) so you may want to start with half a teaspoon and go from there. Pour a little water in the mug to just cover the powder and then whisk it with your bamboo or wire whisk or a fork until it is like a paste. Then pour more water to fill the mug and stir. You may want to stir in a little natural sweetener like honey or brown rice syrup to start as the taste is going to be bitter but in time you will get used to it and you won't need the sweetener anymore. That's it! You will want to stir or swirl your mug as you are drinking it so that the powder doesn't collect at the bottom.

Keep in mind that Matcha tea does have caffeine (but doesn't come with coffee jitters) so if that keeps you up at night make sure to drink it earlier in the day. It is also quite strong - I like to have something to eat before drinking it but feel it out for yourself.

Be careful when ordering a Matcha drink at a coffee shop - most times they are made using a sweetened mixture that has tons of sugar and calories and actually isn't healthy at all (Starbucks). Ask if they use real matcha powder and what else is in the drink to make a healthy decision.

Stay tuned for more posts on my fav ways to enjoy Matcha.

"Would you like an adventure now, or shall we have our tea first?"  
~Peter Pan

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