Matcha green tea can be cold brewed for an instant breakfast drink. This is a fast and easy way to get a quick hit of healthy green tea catechins.
You may have noticed matcha is trending these days. Maybe you think you don’t like matcha green tea. Or you want to try it, and just don’t know where to start. Or you think that you aren’t advanced enough as a tea drinker. This is far from the truth.
Once you read this you will develop a new found love for matcha green tea. You’ll learn the skills and gain the knowledge needed to make a fine matcha brew.
There are plenty of ways to enjoy matcha green tea. What’s so awesome about this green tea powder is just that – it’s a powder. This makes it super easy to add to so many different foods and beverages. Matcha is a popular ingredient in desserts, ice cream, and lattes.
In this post, I’ll teach you a little bit about matcha, tell you the best place to buy matcha and show you how to make a matcha green tea breakfast drink for a nice morning infusion of Vitamin C and a mega dose of antioxidants.
What Is Matcha Green Tea?
This Japanese style of tea is gaining popularity worldwide because of its densely packed nutrients. How is this different from other tea made from the Camellia sinensis plant?
Matcha green tea is a powdered tea from Japan and is used in the traditional Japanese tea ceremony – Chanoyu.
In the Japanese tea garden, when the new shoots on a tea bush have two or three leaves, they are shaded from sunlight for several weeks. This shading increases the plants’ production of chlorophyll – hence the intense green color of the tea.
The leaves are steamed before they’re dried. During the drying process, all the stems and veins are removed and the Tencha leaves, as they are called, are ground into a very fine powder in a stone mill.
When you drink matcha, you are drinking the actual leaf, not just an infusion of the leaf. This is why it is so rich in nutrients.
Other tea growing countries produce matcha, but not with the same quality. The Japanese have been producing matcha for over 1,000 years and have elevated it to a fine art. They still make the best matcha green tea available today. When you are buying matcha green tea, be sure it says it’s from Japan to ensure you are buying the highest quality.
Related: 10 Best Online Tea Shops
Tips to Cold Brew Matcha Green Tea
Traditionally matcha green tea is drunk hot, but you can also cold brew it, which is what we’re going to do here.
- A good grade of matcha is bright green, indicating freshness. It should not be a khaki color green.
- Buy organic if you can.
- Always press the powdered tea through a sieve before mixing. This will reduce clumping and ease mixing. Especially helpful with cold brewing.
- Buy matcha that is from Japan.
- Use about ½ teaspoon matcha to ½ cup of water to start. For hot brewing, use 160-170F (71-77C) water temperature.
- Combine the matcha with a small amount of water first to blend together into a paste. Then add remaining water.
- Whisk briskly with a quick back and forth motion to create frothing. You can also use an electric frother. Traditionally a bamboo whisk and bowl are used for whisking and frothing.
- Always buy a high-quality matcha.
- Matcha comes in 3 grades: ceremonial, classic and cafe or kitchen. Buy the best you can afford. If you’re just using matcha in a face mask such as this one, you can use the lowest grade.
Matcha Source has a great video showing you how to make matcha green tea:
Matcha Green Tea Breakfast Drink
Matcha green tea can be cold brewed for an instant breakfast drink. This is a fast and easy way to get a quick hit of green tea catechins.
Ingredients
- 1/2 teaspoon matcha green tea - Matcha Source
- 3 ounces sparkling water - Pellegrino
- 3 ounces orange juice
Instructions
Press matcha powder through a sieve into a 6-ounce glass.
- Add sparkling water and froth briskly using a back and forth motion.
- Add fresh orange juice, not from concentrate.
- Enjoy.
Recipe Notes
Tips to Cold Brew Matcha Green Tea
Traditionally matcha green tea is drunk hot, but you can also cold brew it, which is what we're going to do here.
- A good grade of matcha is bright green, indicating freshness. It should not be a khaki color green.
- Buy organic if you can.
- Always press the powdered tea through a sieve before mixing. This will reduce clumping and ease mixing. Especially helpful with cold brewing.
- Buy matcha that is from Japan.
- Use about ½ teaspoon matcha to ½ cup of water to start. For hot brewing, use 160-170F (71-77C) water temperature.
- Combine the matcha with a small amount of water first to blend together into a paste. Then add remaining water.
- Whisk briskly with a quick back and forth motion to create frothing. You can also use an electric frother. Traditionally a bamboo whisk and bowl are used for whisking and frothing.
- Always buy a high-quality matcha.
- Matcha comes in 3 grades: ceremonial, classic and cafe or kitchen. Buy the best you can afford. If you're just using matcha in a face mask such as this one, you can use the lowest grade.
Nutritional Goodness of Matcha Green Tea
One of the secrets of the Zen monks was drinking matcha green tea. It helped them stay calm and alert during long stints of meditation. Because you are consuming the entire tea leaf, you are benefiting from higher antioxidants, most notably EGCG, higher caffeine and higher theanine levels.
I wrote about the positive effects of l-theanine on the brain in 3 Ways to Reduce Stress Naturally.
EGCG or Epigallocatechin gallate is a catechin – a form of antioxidant. Many scientific studies have been done to determine the effect of EGCG on human health. Some studies show the positive health benefits of EGCG against cancer while others are inconclusive.
Cancer Prevention: Where tea does help in cancer prevention is by mitigating free radicals which can give rise to the development of abnormal cell growth. The abnormal cells can turn cancerous. Tea alone will not prevent cancer, but combining it with a healthy lifestyle and healthy eating, it may certainly help.
Not only that, matcha green tea provides 30 times more Vitamin C than an infusion of whole leaf green tea, the protein and calcium levels are also higher in matcha green tea.
Weight Loss: Studies have shown that tea does increase your metabolic rate of burning calories. The catechins in tea help turn fat into energy by increasing your energy expenditure.
The book Cancer Hates Tea references a Swedish study that found the EGCG’s in green tea boost levels of the gastrointestinal hormone, cholecystokinin. This is the hormone that tells your body you are satiated – or you’ve had enough to eat! The effects can last up to two hours.
3 Best Places to Buy Quality Matcha Green Tea Online
I buy my matcha from the Matcha Source. It’s not bitter and has a clean taste. It may seem a bit pricey, but you always want to buy a quality matcha. And all they sell is matcha green tea. When that is their sole focus, it tells me they must really know their matcha.
I have also bought matcha green tea from The Tea Spot and the ceremonial grade from Adagio Teas. Both have very good Japanese matcha tea as well.
MatchaSource:
Matcha tea comes in different grades. Alissa White is the Founder of Matcha Source, an online retailer of premium matcha tea and specialty utensils for preparing and enjoying matcha. This shop focuses strictly on matcha, from ceremony grade to kitchen grade and everything in-between. MatchSource teas are hand-picked by the Yahagi River in Japan. International shipping.
Adagio Teas: Specializes in an expansive variety of loose leaf teas and teaware. They source directly from the artisan grower. The teas I have tried are always fresh and have a superb flavor. You can find almost any type of tea from herbals to masters’ collections, which I do recommend. They depend heavily on reviews, which are very helpful when buying their teas. They also include information about the origin of the tea and brewing guides. Samples are available and they ship internationally.
The Tea Spot:
Handcrafted teas and innovative Steepware. They specialize in gourmet loose tea with handcrafted, signature blends, and single-estate full leaf teas. You will find a large variety of health-focused blends. The company was founded in 2004 by Maria Uspenski, a cancer survivor drawn to the health benefits of whole leaf tea during her recovery. Her message is simple and powerful: tea in its freshest form renders premium flavor and unmatched health benefits.
Mega-antioxidants from Matcha Green Tea
Now that you’ve had an introduction to matcha green tea and gained some knowledge, you’ll want to get all the EGCG’s and mega-antioxidants that come from this amazing tea.
I’ve been a tea drinker all my life and it took me a long time before I would even try matcha. But I’m so glad I finally did. I love my morning breakfast matcha now.
So don’t be afraid to try it. And remember, not only is this tea uber-healthy, it helps you tap into a deep calmness and inner wellness.
Is it help to strong the digestion also?
Thanks for sharing Nutritional Goodness of Matcha Green Tea. I always found of benefits of Matcha tea which I can share with my friends and this blog have good information about same. Recently I have read the recipe of Matcha Tea at here Grosche.
Thanks, Tracy!