We all heard about matcha green tea and saw these attractive and aesthetic photos with extra foam on social media. But what do we know about this drink? Let’s clear it up.

What is matcha green tea?

Long-long ago, when the Song dynasty ruled in China, people drank tea and appreciated it not only for medical properties but also for invigorating and gustatory qualities. Any Buddhist meditation session, any philosophical meeting of court nobility and even any poetry contests included a charming tea ceremony.

In Japan the powder tea culture appeared in the 12th century. Eisai, a Buddhist priest, brought seeds of the precious plant to the country and wrote a tea tract where he shared how to drink tea and live a longer life.

Time passed and China tea powder was gradually replaced with tea leaves. But Japanese managed to save powder tea ceremonies. For eight centuries already they have been keeping the traditional production technology of matcha green tea.

How matcha’s made

The process of making matcha is as fascinating as its scent. In early spring matcha tea plants are covered with rice straws to protect them from sun rays and keep in the dark. It’s thought that this makes the leaves softer, sweeter, brighter and richer in antioxidants.

Then leaves are gathered, processed and put into special underground containers till autumn. When autumn comes, leaves are got out of containers and ground into powder of bright pistachio color.

Matcha green tea is an illustration of the upcoming autumn and new tea season. But it also has a variety of benefits, showing that it can help protect and promote health and even be very helpful during the weight loss process.

What are the health benefits of matcha?

Rich in antioxidants

It’s not a secret that matcha is a superfood that has the highest antioxidant rating among others. It contains lots of catechins (a class of plant compounds that act like natural antioxidants). If you remember antioxidants help stabilize harmful free radicals which damage cells and cause chronic diseases. And as matcha powder is added to hot water, the tea will contain all the nutrients from the whole leaf. Thus it will have more catechins and antioxidants than regular green tea leaves.

Great for immune system

Matcha green tea strengthens the immune system as well as limits the growth of different bacteria in your body. Again, the catechin antioxidant called EGCG plays a great role in fighting and protecting your body against various viral infections. It binds to cells and controls the growth of many disease causing microorganisms including certain types of viruses.

Burns calories and help you lose weight

By adding matcha to your diet, you see how already known EGCG and caffeine work perfectly together: they boost your metabolism and increase the amount of calories you burn on a daily basis. Moreover, matcha tea utilizes fat as an energy source. Сatechins activate your body’s thermogenic fat burning activity. But don’t wait a miracle, it works great with regular training and a healthy and balanced diet. Sounds like a good plan!
It also should be mentioned that matcha’s EGCG increases CCK (in other words, cholecystokinin that’s responsible for stimulating the digestion of fat and protein as well as making you feel full). Thus drinking matcha between meals will help you feel full and cut on  caloric snacks during the day. 

Boosts brain function

Regular matcha usage helps improve attention, reaction time and memory. Compounds that are contained in matcha alter brain aging processes and act like possible neuroprotective agents in progressive neurodegenerative disorders.
L-theanine, that is also contained in matcha, alters the effects of caffeine by promoting alertness and helping avoid bounces in energy levels that can be a result of caffeine consumption.
Moreover, L-theanine help relax and decrease stress levels.

High in vitamins and minerals

Matcha green tea contains lots of to vitamins, minerals and plant compounds that have strong anti-inflammatory effects. Vitamin A (carotene), vitamin B1 (thiamine), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B3 (niacin), vitamin C, vitamin F (fluorine), vitamin P (flavonoids). Seems like matcha has everything that you need. So isn’t it better to drink matcha tea on a regular basis than constantly forget taking all these vitamins?

How to make matcha tea?

I think it’s quite clear that matcha green tea is a great drink for your health. Now it’s time to figure out how to make matcha green tea right. Of course, you need certain kitchen accessories: a bowl called ‘chawan’ that’s used for preparing and drinking tea, a scoop known as ‘chasaku’ and a bamboo whisk ‘chasen’.

There are two ways of preparing matcha: thin (‘usucha’) and thick (‘koicha’). The main rule while making home-made matcha is that the water shouldn’t be boiling. It must be hot and about 70-80ºC.

Usucha

For this way of matcha preparation you’ll need 70 ml of water and 2g of matcha powder. Fill chawan with water and whisk it with the help of chasen to make the bowl a bit warmer. Then wipe it dry and let the powder go through the sieve to get rid of lumps. Put it to chawan, add water and whisk it until the powder is completely dissolved and extra foam appears. That’s it. Not that difficult, right?

Koicha

Here you’ll need 50ml of hot water and 4g of powder for one portion. You do all the same as for usucha but this time you don’t need to whisk the powder intensively. You just mix everything smoothly so that foam doesn’t appear at all.

If you like a smooth, a bit peppery and sweet-sour aftertaste, usucha will be perfect for you. As for koicha, it has richer and more lingering taste with grassy flavour.

What about matcha latte?

Ok, now we know how to make a proper matcha green tea. But what if we want to make it with milk? Such a green latte as if it was made at one of those trendy coffee places. No problem! Let’s do it. But this time you’ll need a cappuccinatore and 150g of plant milk for one portion of matcha latte. Heat up milk but don’t boil it. Whisk it with the help of the cappuccinatore until extra foam appears. Then slowly add it to powder. And your perfect green drink is ready!

So, to sum up: you’ll find it difficult to disagree that matcha is really healthy and has more benefits than any drink ever. We all want to be in a better mood, feel more relaxed, be happy and live a long and healthy life. Seems like matcha green tea is a perfect drink for that, right?

And of course, remember, whatever you do, you do it to yourself!