During the spring of this year I have had the chance to attend a health show here in Toronto, and one of the products that I left with was Matcha Powder by Matcha Ninja.
It has been fun trying different drink combinations with this highly nutritious powder, one of the simplest once is mixing 1/2 tspn of the powder with water (hot or cold) and have it as a tea. The other option is making a Matcha Latte, and if you are like me and not taking chances of drinking lattes and fancy pants drinks from the coffee shops, due to quality of the products that they are using or the amount of sugar goes into each drink… then give this LATTE a try. All you need is matcha powder, dairy-free milk, couple of dates for sweetness, vanilla extract, hemp seeds, some brewed tea or just water and cacao butter, totally optional.
CHOOSING MATCHA POWDER
When choosing matcha, make sure that the powder itself is made of organic, properly sourced young Green Tea leaves, and free from heavy metals, radiation, pesticides and other contaminants. A lot of matcha tea is coming from Japan, the one I have purchased is produced in China.
Before the leaves of green tea are harvested they are kept in the shade for the last couple of weeks, this way the content of the chlorophyll and antioxidants is much higher, you can see it even by the gorgeous green color of the powder. Next, the carefully selected young leaves are grounded into the powder and used in brewed tea, lattes and in baking.
Concerned about caffeine content in matcha tea, don’t be! The amino acid L-Theanine in matcha is known to balance the caffeine effect, so you won’t become too stimulated and shaky like some people who can’t tolerate caffeine in coffee, talking about myself here.
BENEFITS OF MATCHA POWDER
- super high in antioxidants, meaning helps with free radical damage, leading to a better skin, slowing down the aging process
- reducing the inflammation in the body
- energy boosting & calming at the same time
- increasing immune system
- improves mood and ability to concentrate
- reducing risks of cancer
- lowers cholesterol
Yields 1 to 2 servings
INGREDIENTS
1 cup almond milk or Coconut Milk
1 cup brewed Rooibos Tea or hot water
1/2 tspn Matcha Powder
2 tbsp Hemp Seeds
1 tspn Coconut Butter (optional)
2 Medjool Dates
1/2 tspn Vanilla Extract
DIRECTIONS
- Brew one bag of Rooibos Tea in 1 cup of hot water for 5 minutes
- Add dates to the tea, this will help to soften the dates & blend them better
- Measure all the ingredients
- Add everything into a high speed blender and blend on a high speed until smooth
- Pour into your favorite cup, sprinkle with cinnamon
Enjoy your Matcha Latte!
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