Matcha Waiting For?
It’s time to put your ordinary green tea bags in the back of the pantry and bring matcha powder front and center. The following is a list of only some of the amazing health benefits of matcha green tea which is hopefully likely to convert you:
- Anti-inflammatory agents
- Rich in catechins (the most potent and beneficial antioxidant)
- Promotes weight loss by enhancing metabolism and increases rate of fat burn
- High in fiber
- Energy and caffeine boost without the crash
- Detoxifies the body due to its high levels of chlorophyll
Not only is matcha incredibly beneficial for your health, it’s simple to prepare. Ever had a matcha latte from any popular coffee joint? Those taste more like sugar and milk than anything else. They don’t have that pure matcha flavoring and are also packed with sugar and empty calories. And at almost $5 a pop, buying green tea lattes at coffee joints may not be the friendliest for your waistline or your wallet.
You can easily make your own matcha latte at home. This is all you need:
Matcha powder
Soy or almond milk
Agave (optional)
I purchased my $4.99 bag of matcha powder at a Japanese grocery store called Nijiya Market. Simply bring half a cup of water to a low simmer and mix in 1½ tablespoons of matcha powder (you can use more or less depending on how concentrated you want the flavor to be). While the tea cools, make some froth for your latte. If you don’t have a machine or gadget to help you with that, simply pour some of your soy or almond milk into an empty bottle or jar and start shaking. The sweetness from the soy or almond milk is enough for me, but you can always add a bit of agave to sweeten it up even more. Vanilla soy or almond milk tastes great too but the matcha flavor may get a little lost.
If you want your latte hot, you can put the jar of froth into the microwave for about 50 seconds and the foamy peaks will stabilize. For an iced latte, pour your match tea into a glass filled with ice. Then pour your milk and froth over it. Throw in a straw, give it a stir, and you have your very own matcha latte without all the extra sugar and added flavoring. So matcha waiting for? See what I did there? Drink yourself to health!
Creating my own matcha latte was inspired by this dual colored dress from WOW Couture (similar here and here) which has a textured patterned white top with a glitter speckled bandage dark green bottom. When I saw this dress, a not-yet-stirred green tea latte came to mind where the bottom was dark green but the top was creamy white still from the just-poured milk. I chose a nude pair of peep toe pumps from Joan & David (similar here, here, and here) as not to draw too much attention away from the simplicity of the dress. In my mind, a matcha latte is a simple drink that’s soothing and calming. This week I didn’t want to add a big punch of color with my shoes since the focus this week is on the green and white of a green tea latte.
As always, please feel free to email me or contact me with any other matcha powder recipes, outfits inspired by the color green, or anything else you’d like to share with me! Thanks for reading!