What the FLIK is...Matcha?
Green tea has been around since the beginning of time, but it’s younger, hipper sister matcha is taking her turn in the global spotlight.
Traditionally prepared and served as a meditative, spiritual act in the Japanese tea ceremony, matcha has been around for centuries.
If you’re curious about this trendy beverage, here are all things you need to know.
What the FLIK is...Matcha?
Matcha is a type of green tea and literally translates to "powdered tea."
What makes it different from traditional green tea is that matcha is produced by taking the young green tea leaves and grinding them into an ultra-fine, bright green powder.
Matcha leaves are grown on bushes that are covered by shade. This allows for greater amount of chlorophyll to be present in the leaves and gives them their signature bright green color. Chlorophyll binds to heavy metals and toxins in our systems and flushes them out of the body.
What truly differentiates green tea from matcha is that traditionally, green tea infuses the leaves in water causing for some the nutrients to be lost. On the other hand, with matcha, you’re drinking the whole tea leaves in pulverized form.
Can I make my own matcha drinks?
While there are so many great shops that are channeling their best matchas, you can easily make it at home on your own.
To avoid clumps, it’s recommended that you use a tea strainer to sift the matcha powder into a bowl; traditionally this is done with a bamboo whisk called a chasen. Matcha powder and milk should then be whisked together. The whisking creates a foamy tea that can be poured into your cup.
Here’s a quick video of how to make a matcha tea latte (and our recipe is below!):
Why should I drink matcha?
Matcha is packed with antioxidants, which help keep your immune system strong, including a class of antioxidant called catechins. Matcha is particularly high in one called EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate), which is believed to have cancer-fighting effects on the body.
A reason that people are gravitating to this new green is because it gives you the perfect amount of caffeine and energy boost to sustain you through the day without the jitters or crash.
Over time, it has been seen that our bodies actually absorb the caffeine in matcha differently than we do from our coffee.
Matcha Tea Latte
A quick way to make matcha tea lattes from the comfort of home!
Ingredients
| 1 1/2 teaspoons matcha powder |
| 1 cup warmed milk |
Instructions
Sift the matcha powder into a cup. Add the warm milk of your choice and stir until no lumps remain. Stir in any added sweetener and serve.
Interested in using matcha as more than just tea? Here are a few recipes to get your started:
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Read more from the "What the FLIK..." series:
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