Thursday, 4 April 2013

The benefits of matcha (Powdered Green Tea)

Becky from teapigs sent me a sample of matcha, consisting of 3 servings, for me to try out. If you don't know what teapigs are, I'll give you time to catch up on this post................;} So okay, I used the matcha to make latte but I could have made matcha smoothie, cookies, ice-cream, martini, tiramsu and so forth. I chose to make match latte because it is the easiest and quickest recipe out of the bunch. Use only a few minutes of your time and you'll end up with a healthy and tasty drink. 

To make this yummy latte you will need:
❤1/2 ts of matcha powder
❤200ml of milk
sugar/ honey to sweeten (Optional)

Instructions:
First off, whisk a bit of milk (60ml) with the matcha powder to form a paste. This is an important step so don't skip it! If you do you will end up with fat green lumps floating around in your latte. The next step is add sugar/honey. I added a tiny bit of honey to sweeten my drink but really it tastes good without. The last step is to add in the rest of the milk and whisk away until frothy!

For more matcha recipes, be sure to visit the teapigs website here!
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There's plenty of benefits matcha can provide you. 

Did you know powdered matcha:
  • is powerful than regular green tea? 1 serving of matcha is equivalent to 15 cups of normal green tea. As you know, matcha is basically powered green tea leaves so you are actually consuming the whole leaf/leaves. As with regular green tea, you drink the water and throw away the leaves which contains most of the nutrients.
  • is ultra rich in antioxidants? Antioxidants can repair our damaged cells, thus slows down our skin from ageing. Leading research and medical institutions show that it has considerably more antioxidents than well-known brain foods such as goji, acaiberries, spinach etc... Celebrities such as Mirander Kerr use them as snacks to keep healthy. I wonder whether they know about matcha powder.
  • helps boost metabolisms? Regular green tea apparently helps boost metabolism and help people lost weight/ keeps them slim. Do you know anyone who carries a flask filled with regular green tea? Maybe you should let them know about matcha powder because it is more effective due to higher concentration of nutrients.
  • helps keep your skin healthy? It contains a special agent called polyphenols which prevents skin damage/cancer caused by being under the sun for too long. I worship the sun a lot. During the Summer I bathe under the sun in the park/my garden with my sunglasses and sun-cream in handy. This Summer I will be sure to include a flask of cool matcha latte around with me.
  • increases your energy? There are 2 amino acids which help lift your energy and sustain it for approx. 6 hours and it aids relaxation and also concentration . The majority of students in Asia use it to help them study for exams. Could this be the secret to exam success?
  • helps keep you in good health? Drinking matcha often can prevent you from diseases, liver damage, diabetes etc... That is all something you want to avoid. 


Don't you just love knowing things which you never knew? wows me most of the time. 

xoxo