In the past couple years, it's seemed matcha has been widely recognized for it's amazing health perks. I'd like to bring up just a few points to, in brief, explain what it is, and what some of these perks are.
It has a pretty simple farm to table explanation... the leaves are picked, steam dried, then ground into a powder for consumption. So, alternatively to a more common route of consumption for tea where the leaves steep in hot water for a few minutes and you discard of the leaves after, with matcha you're consuming the entire leaf. This route allows you to ingest many more health benefits from the plant... a cup of matcha contains the antioxidants of up to 10 cups of regular tea! Some of these antioxidants include catechins and the cancer fighting epigallocatechin gallate, or EGCG. In addition to fighting cancer, green tea has been linked to lowered cholesterol, increased metabolism and detoxification. Its caffeine is counteracted by L-theanine, an amino acid with psychoactive properties, capable of lowering stress levels. If we didn’t love matcha already, we’re certainly hooked now!
According to Kelly, matcha has a pretty simple farm to table explanation. The tea leaves are picked, steamed dried, and ground into powder for consumption. We were surprised to learn that one cup of matcha contains the antioxidants of up to 10 cups of regular tea. These antioxidants include catechins and the cancer fighting epigallocatechin gallate, or EGCG. In addition to fighting cancer, green tea has been linked to lowered cholesterol, increased metabolism and detoxification. Its caffeine is counteracted by L-theanine, an amino acid with psychoactive properties, capable of lowering stress levels. If we didn’t love matcha already, we’re certainly hooked now!
One of the most common ways to consume matcha is either to blend it into cold milk or a smoothie, or whisked it hot water. Surprisingly enough though, if you add milk to tea, the casein protein in cow’s milk can bind to the antioxidants and make them unavailable to the body. Therefore, the best non-dairy option is to mix your matcha with almond milk or coconut milk.
Something to note: a common concern with green tea in the health space is that more often than not, it contains traces of lead. It's important to be aware of the contaminants found in any green tea... which is why I've begun making matcha that I've sourced available to you. If you're interested in giving it a try or reading more details, click here.
So, after doing your own research and self-exploration, see how matcha makes you feel! I'd suggest subbing it out for your morning coffee, or try it after your massage or yoga class, when you want to stay in that zen state but still get that caffeine. I love mine with hot water (not boiling! It burns the matcha and can make it taste bitter) with hot almond milk. Try sweetening with agave syrup or maple syrup. You may find you experience way less of those coffee gitters... this is a great way to allow your body the luxury of nice, evenly distributed caffeine. Try for yourself and let me know your thoughts!
With love and light,
N~