Start Your Day Right with Matcha: Boost Energy and Focus!

Good day! Today at Earth's Wisdom we want to share with you information on Matcha green tea powder. There is a lot of benefits of drinking matcha such as energy boost, increased metabolism and much more. This is why we want to share this information with you to include in your day for overall well-being.  We have included our two favorite recipes that we hope you will enjoy.

About Matcha Green Tea Powder

Matcha is a premium green tea powder that can be drinked or used in recipes. This green tea is grown in heart of Japan and has been drank at special ceremonies. Blends of matcha are given poetic names known as chamei (“tea names”) either by producing plantation, shop, creator of blend or grand master of particular tea tradition.

To produce matcha the tea leaves are grown in shaded area. This slowes down plant growth which causes the  increase in chlorophyll levels, turns the leaves a darker shade of green, and causes the production of amino acids, in particular theanine.

Only the finest tea buds and three leaves are hand picked and than leaves are steamed and layed flat to dry. Once dry and crumbled into tencha the leaves slowly are stone grinded into fine powder. It takes an hour to ground only 30 grams of matcha.

Grades Of Matcha

In general matcha tea is quality and expensive tea compare to other forms of tea. Although it is quality it is still divided into various grades. There are 4 factors that determine grade of matcha: location of tea bush, treatment before processing, stone grinding and oxidation.

Ceremonial Grade

Is the highest quality of matcha tea. Drank for centuries in Japan. This matcha tea is made of youngest tea leaves, with stems and veins removed. The leaves are stone-ground, which makes the matcha suitable for a thick-style tea. Thanks to its bright green color, it can easily be recognized from the other tea grades. This tea is naturally sweet, bright green and should smell slightly grassy. Should never be gritty or coarse.

Culinary grade

Used for cooking and baking. It is not necessarily a lesser quality but it is used for different purpose. This grade is slightly stronger, less sweet and a little bitter. Also has a grassy smell and should not be gritty or coarse. The color is darker but still slightly bright green. Culinary matcha can also be broken into 5 other categories: premium, café, ingredient, kitchen, and classic.

Benefits of Matcha

When drinking matcha tea you are enjoying the whole stoneground leaves compare to other teas that you only get a portion of benefits of green tea. Matcha tea is 10 times stronger than brewed green tea.

Some amazing benefits of matcha are:

Powerful Antioxident

With the strength of matcha you receive more antioxidants than any other green tea. Antioxidants are one of the first lines of defense that the body employs to keep free radicals in check and prevent them from causing a domino effect of damage on other cells. 

Experts at Tufts University discovered that matcha possesses an amazing twenty times more antioxidants than pomegranates or blueberries. Matchas ORAC rating is a mighty 1573 units per gram, compared to pomegranates 105 units per gram or blueberries 93 units.

Cancer fighting with Catechin

Matcha is also loaded with catechin, EGCg it makes 60% of matcha green tea. Catechin is most widely recognized as having cancer fighting properties. Scientists found that matcha contains 100 times more EGCg than any other tea on the market.

Relaxing and Calming

This wonderful tea also contains amino acid L-Theanine which plays major roll in inducing relaxation without the drowsiness. L-Theanine also helps with concentration and memory.

Energy booster without side-effects

The Samurai learned that drinking Matcha would help them better meditate before battle, as well as provide the long-lasting energy boost and increase in physical endurance. While all green tea naturally contains caffeine, the energy boost received from Matcha is mostly due to its unique combination of other nutrients. The energy boost can last up to 6 hours without the side-effects that you can experience when drinking caffeine.

Fat and calorie burner

Matcha also is proven to increase metabolism and burns fat making it a great addition to weight loss program. A recent study shows it helps burn fat by four times.

Recipes using Matcha

Matcha can be drank daily simply as a tea or used for cooking. We hope you will enjoy this two recipes that you can make with matcha. 

Matcha Latte

• 1 teaspoon of matcha powder
• Milk of your choice
• Kitchen accessories: bamboo whisker, sifter

Instructions

1. Sift 1 tsp of matcha powder into a cup
2. Melt matcha by adding boiled water until powder is dissolved or smooth
3. Pour milk over matcha tea
4. Slowly whisk to create foam
5. Add your favorite sweetner

OPTIONAL:

Add flavors with chai spice, cinnamon, vanilla or coconut. Add ice and blend for matcha frappe.

Matcha Pencakes

• 2 egg
• 2 cups of all purpose flour
• 3-4 tablespoons of mactha poder
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon of salt
• 1 ½ cups of milk
• 2 tablespoons of cooled butter
• Butter or oil for baking

       Instructions

1. Prep batter. In a large mixing bowl, mix together dry ingredients.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and add milk and cooled butter.
3. Stir egg mixture into dry ingredients and stir just until mixture is wet (some lumps are okay). Add extra milk if mixture is too thick.
4. Cook pancakes. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add oil or a knob of butter. Once simmering, add 1/3 cup of batter to skillet. After bottom brows and bubbles begin to appear (~1-2 minutes), flip pancake and cook an additional 1-2 minutes.
5. Serve with your favorite toppings.

 ENJOY!

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