Have you ever heard of a matcha tea? Maybe, it came across to you on the pages of a menu in a cafe or a magazine. Matcha tea is a powder of Japanese green tea, lovers of green teas will appreciate its taste and aroma. If you have not had to drink powdered teas before, so matcha tea will pleasantly surprise you. If you need something to cheer – up, give power, vitality, accelerate metabolism, we recommend trying matcha tea, perhaps this drink is perfect for you.
Matcha tea has a tart and sweet taste at the same time. A good quality product should not be bitter or give other extraneous flavors. Sweetness is enough, but if you add a little honey, the result will be even better. Everyone describes the aroma of matcha tea differently, someone picks up a strong smell, someone doesn’t smell anything at all.
What does the science say?
Numerous studies have proven that one cup of powdered matcha green tea is equivalent to 10 cups of plain green leaf tea, and it also has more than 130 times more antioxidants. Besides, the antioxidants in matcha tea:
• 6.2 times more than in goji berries;
• 7 times more than in dark bitter chocolate;
• 60 times more than in spinach.
The benefits of matcha tea for the body are much significant than the benefits of green tea, because we drink not only ‘water’ we get from tea leaves, but also use tea leaves themselves. Of course, matcha tea is a wonderful product for alkalizing the body, successfully neutralizing the acidic environment, it is useful for health, beauty, rejuvenation.
Health properties of matcha tea
One of the main discoveries of the beneficial properties of matcha tea was that in addition to vitality and increasing the overall stamina of the body, this drink contributes to weight loss. Therefore, if this question is relevant to you, here are a few reasons why you should add drinking matcha tea in your daily diet:
• matcha tea accelerates metabolism and helps the body burn fat 4 times more efficiently, without causing the classic side effects of increased metabolism, such as increased pressure, increased heart rate, etc .;
• matcha tea is a source of L-theanine, a natural amino acid that is a unique natural antidepressant and relaxant. It has a direct effect on the amount of activity and increases energy. It also affects the production of serotonin and dopamine – hormones of joy, the lack of which causes the wish to eat a lot of sweets;
• matcha tea cleanses the body of chemical toxins and heavy metals due to the increased level of chlorophyll (a natural powerful detoxifier) in tea leaves;
• matcha tea normalizes cholesterol levels. People who drink it regularly have higher levels of good cholesterol (high-density lipoprotein cholesterol), which is necessary for transporting fats to the liver and removing excess cholesterol from the body;
• matcha tea contains the highest amount of antioxidants compared to all other teas. Antioxidants are chemicals that neutralize free radicals and slow down the body’s natural aging process. The matcha tea contains 100 times more powerful antioxidant EGC (epigallocatechin) than any other tea, which is famous for its powerful anti-cancer properties.
How to make matcha tea
You can make tea brew strong or weak – here you choose what you prefer the most. Japanese tea ceremonies are a whole brewing ritual. You will need the right utensils, a whisk brush, a bamboo stick to whip and mix. Also, do not forget to control certain water temperatures and perform all actions in an exact sequence.
Traditional matcha tea recipe:
• 2 g of matcha tea (1.5 – 2 teaspoons);
• 70 ml of water (temperature should be approximately 70-80 degrees);
• Start with mixing the powder with water, increasing the pace from slow to very fast. There will appear foam; try to drink tea fairly quickly so that the foam does not disappear.
Brewing matcha tea with milk and syrup (honey):
• 1 teaspoon of matcha tea;
• a cup of warm water (70-80 degrees);
• 1 teaspoon of honey or syrup (if you want to sweeten);
• 3/4 cup of milk.
Pour the powder into a tall glass and pour water. Then heat the milk (so that it is hot, but not boil), pour into a glass with tea, add syrup or honey, mix gently. According to this recipe, you can make matcha tea in a shaker, you get a beautiful foamy drink.
Since the product resembles powder and is partially soluble, matcha can be used as a component of fruit or vegetable drinks, smoothies, mousses, creams, cakes, ice cream. There are many recipes for baking with matcha powder.
Do you need to try matcha tea?
• There is a big difference between Japanese and Chinese tea. You can buy them on the Internet or tea shops, in some supermarkets in the departments of organic products. Prices for Japanese matcha tea are higher, if this is your first try, we still recommend buying matcha tea of the original Japanese version.
• This is a sweet drink with a pleasant delicate aroma – a real pleasure!
• Matcha tea increases the ability to concentrate, especially it can be useful when you are working on an important project and you need to focus.
• The cleansing effect is noticeable; you only need to learn how to brew tea correctly. If you repeat the same steps all the time, in the end, you will be able to create your own, unique recipe for a matcha tea.
• You can make matcha tea in different ways; pay attention to how your body reacts. Some celebrities advise drinking this tea instead of breakfast and afternoon tea. But everyone knows that breakfast is a must, so you can start with two or three cups a week or at your discretion.
