I discovered matcha green tea on one of my many store runs to Costco. I LOVE Costco by the way and any time I can find time to sneak away, even if only to check out what’s new in the store, I do! Anyway, I digress. I am a coffee drinker but I also love tea. When I decided to purchase this matcha tea, I had no idea what to do with it or how to make it, all I knew is that I had heard that it was good for you, and many folks that I consider ‘healthy’ swear by it, so I thought I would give it a try. Did a little research and watched some YouTube videos to figure it all out.

Matcha tea is a finely ground powder green tea from Japan. “Matcha contains the nutrients from the entire tea leaf, which results in a greater amount of caffeine and antioxidants than typically found in green tea”. It has incredible health benefits and a few that I personally can attest to from drinking it over the past few weeks:

1. It’s high in antioxidants. Antioxidants help your body fight off chronic disease (i.e. cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc.).
2. Boosts brain function and reduces the ‘crash’ that you may experience after a few hours when drinking coffee – this is my favorite quality thus far because I have found that I am just more clear these days. I have better focus, attention, clarity, and an ability to better articulate my thoughts. When I drink coffee, usually by around 2pm in the afternoon I have lost my ability to focus on more intellectually rigorous tasks that require my focused undivided attention. I usually find myself ready to crash and searching for a sugary snack. This has not been an issue since I have been drinking matcha, no more brain fog!
3. May help with weight loss. I will keep you posted on this but I have found that my digestion has improved and I have a ton more energy, which has been helpful for sticking to my Peloton goals.

Of course, after I bought it I realized that I didn’t even have the proper tools to actually make the tea. One of those tools is a bamboo whisk, I mean who has a bamboo whisk lying around? Not me. But after a bit of research, I discovered that some people use an immersion blender or a milk frother, and because I bought an immersion blender for Thanksgiving (from Costco :)) I was in business. I have been using it ever since.

Now to make the matcha tea latte. It’s ‘kind of’ simple.

Add 1 teaspoon of matcha to a large mug (important because if you are using an immersion blender the mug needs to be taller and wider so as not to make a mess like I did the first time), then add 1/2 cup of hot water, add about a tablespoon of honey, and then use the immersion blender or bamboo whisk, or milk frother to mix. I add my honey here because I like it mixed in properly with the blender, some may disagree but do you. Then I use my milk steamer on my coffee machine to froth about a 1/4 cup of oat milk (your preference on the amount and type of milk). Pour it into the tea. Voila, matcha tea latte. Should be smooth and delicious!

You could forego the milk and simply add lemon and honey, that’s fine too. It is up to you and what your taste buds prefer. I always wondered why in other cultures they added milk to their tea, now I know why, it truly smooths out the bitterness in the most wonderful way. Not sure that I would try milk with regular ole’ tea bags though. For some reason, it just works with this matcha tea.

Believe it or not, I have found it hard to go back to a cup of coffee. It provides all the elements that make my coffee great with many more health benefits!

Another pro tip: you can add matcha to your greek yogurt, smoothies, desserts, etc.

Let me know if you decide to try your own matcha tea latte!