What is Matcha Green Tea and How to Use It? (Rich in Antioxidant)

• Food: Matcha Green Tea
• Writer: Nicolas Wilson
• Content-Type: Food Blog

I enjoy a warm cup of matcha green tea to start my day. Continue reading to find out how to prepare this invigorating, antioxidant-rich beverage at home!

Matcha began to appear in lattes, ice cream, smoothies, frosting, and other products a few years ago. While I’ll never turn down a matcha doughnut, I’d want to focus on the most basic method to consume it: whisking it into hot water to make a frothy, healthy tea.

Since Jack and I had our first trip to Japan years ago, I’ve loved drinking matcha this way, and I still prepare myself a cup practically every morning. It’s the ideal way to start the day for me. It’s both invigorating and calming at the same time, plus it’s wonderful.

What exactly is Matcha?

Matcha is a Japanese green tea powder created from finely powdered dried tea leaves if you’re not familiar with it. It has a slightly bitter, vegetal flavor and a brilliant green hue due to the high chlorophyll content in the leaves.

For generations, it has been a staple of traditional Japanese tea ceremonies, but it has only lately gained popularity in the United States due to its health advantages.

Green tea is already known for being high in antioxidants, but matcha tea has even more. The reason for this is that in other types of green tea, the leaves are steeped in boiling water and then discarded.

Matcha is made by whisking the powder into hot water or milk.

As a result, when you drink the tea, you swallow the entire leaf! Its antioxidants may help to lower blood pressure, cut your risk of heart disease, and even speed up your metabolism.

So, how about that caffeine? Although matcha contains more caffeine than normal green tea, it does not provide the same buzz as coffee. It makes me feel energized and concentrated while being peaceful

Suggestions

• Matcha isn’t all made equal. When it comes to matcha, there are so many brands to choose from, and the quality varies greatly. I usually recommend shopping for one that doesn’t have any added sugar. Beyond that, the distinction between ceremonial and culinary matcha is the most important. The ceremonial kind is more expensive since it is brewed from the youngest tea leaves and has a mild flavor. If you’re only going to drink matcha with water, this is the one to go for. I prefer the brands Ippodo and Jade Leaf. Otherwise, culinary matcha, which is less expensive, should suffice. It has a more bitter flavor, which works nicely in lattes or desserts. Aiya is my go-to brand because it’s high-quality but still inexpensive.
• It doesn’t last indefinitely. Matcha isn’t known for having a long shelf life. To get the finest color and flavor, use it within two months of opening it. To keep it fresh, I recommend buying it in tiny quantities and storing it in the refrigerator.
• You might wish to invest in a matcha whisk. If you make matcha frequently, I recommend buying a chasen, which is a bamboo whisk (pictured here). Its unique design breaks up clumps and produces a foamy layer on top of the tea. Use a conventional whisk or an electric milk frother instead if you don’t have one. Using a fork or spoon to whisk or stir the mixture will not work.
• To taste, adjust the sweetness. Matcha’s grassy, umami flavor can take some getting used to. If you’re just getting started, a few drops of maple syrup or honey won’t hurt. If your matcha powder is very bitter, you may wish to sweeten your tea.

How to Make Matcha Green Tea?

I’ve included my whole matcha green tea recipe and measurements below, but I wanted to break it down step by step because there are a few techniques to brewing matcha. This is what you must do:

1. Sift everything into a small bowl or cup first. Matcha clumps readily, so sifting it before adding water is always a good idea. Otherwise, getting the tea to spread uniformly in the liquid will be difficult, and your drink will be lumpy.
2. After that, whisk in a small amount of boiling water. But hold on! This isn’t the kind of circular whisking you’d use to make baked goods or scrambled eggs. Instead, aggressively whisk from side to side, either straight back and forth or in a zigzag pattern, to equally disseminate the powder in the water and form a foamy layer on top. Your tea will not foam if you whisk it in a circular motion.
3. Finally, add more hot water or steamed milk to finish. Matcha green tea is traditionally made with simply green tea powder and water, but you can easily make a latte by adding heated milk at the end. Almond milk, coconut milk, or homemade oat milk are some of my favorites. Whisk till foamy again, season with sugar to taste, and serve!

Matcha Green Tea

Discover how to brew your matcha green tea at home! I usually drink my matcha tea unsweetened, however, the bitterness of different matcha kinds varies. If you’re new to brewing matcha, or if your tea is too bitter, sweeten it with a few drops of maple syrup or honey.

Ingredients

• ¼ teaspoon matcha
• 2 ounces hot water, 175°F is ideal
• 6 ounces additional hot water or steamed milk of choice, almond milk, oat milk, coconut milk, dairy milk, etc.
• Maple syrup, honey, or other sweeteners, optional

Instructions

1. To remove any lumps, sift the matcha into a mug or small bowl.
2. Pour the 2 ounces of boiling water into the container. Whisk briskly from side to side with a matcha whisk or a tiny conventional whisk until the matcha is fully dispersed and a foamy layer forms on top.
3. Whisk in the remaining 6 ounces of boiling water or steamed milk until frothy. If desired, sweeten to taste.