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As you all likely already know tea, both black, green as well as other types come from the plant called Camellia sinensis. Even if they all come from the same plant, though, they are pretty different because of different ways of oxidation and withering. Originally green tea was only grown in China, but it quickly spread all over East Asia.
People like to drink green tea, mainly because of its relatively mild taste. For those who do need some energy kick but can’t tolerate high doses of caffeine, it is a good substitute. But it is important to remember that it also has various health benefits. Research shows that some of those are:
- Burns fat
- Improves brain function
- Better cardiovascular health
- Cancer protection
Several types of green tea vary on growing conditions, processing, time of harvesting, and so on. They are all wonderful and provide you with these benefits, but our choice for today is to talk about matcha.
What is Matcha
Let’s first see what it is in the first place. Matcha is pure green tea just processed and grown in another way than traditional green tea. The bushes are grown in the shade before the harvest to increase the chlorophyll levels. That’s why it has a vibrant green color. After the harvest leaves are left to dry in the air and then they are ground into powder. The best matcha powder comes from Japan.
How to Prepare Matcha
If you are ready to start getting your caffeine fix from matcha powder instead of coffee, then you must learn about ways to prepare matcha.
When it comes to preparing ordinary options, there are two ways; usucha and koicha.
Usucha is a ‘thin’ variation, which means that you use less tea and more water for preparing matcha. You need about one and half of teaspoon of matcha powder and 60 ml of water.
- For brewing matcha this way, you need two bowls. In one, put the tea and in another hot water but make sure that the temperature is lower than boiling.
- Slowly pour the water into the bowl with matcha powder
- Whisk rapidly for about 15 seconds with a special bamboo whisk
- When you finish, pour the mixture into a regular teacup and drink it immediately
Koicha is a thicker option, and you will need three teaspoons of tea and 60 ml of water. The preparation process is the same as we described above for usucha. The only thing here is that it is maybe better to use filtered or bottled water as it might significantly improve the taste.
What Do You Need to Make Matcha
Well, besides the apparent, matcha powder and water, you will need a few more things. Here is what you need to prepare matcha in a Japanese way.
- A bamboo whisk
- A tea bowl
- A ladle
- Tea strainer
These are the essentials. Then when you have this, you can make different beverages with matcha powder, but you might need some other things.
How to Make Matcha Latte
Even people who aren’t very fond of tea generally like homemade matcha latte. With matcha powder, you can make a fantastic latte, and we will explain to you how.
- You need one and a half teaspoons of tea, a tablespoon of water, a cup of milk (cow or vegetal), and a teaspoon of sweeteners like agave or maple syrup. If you don’t have these types of sweeteners, you can, of course, use sugar.
- Using the filter sift the powder in the cup
- Stir in hot water. Same as before, keep in mind that it shouldn’t be at a boiling temperature. Whisk with bamboo or regular whisk.
- Heat the sweetener and milk together but remove it from the stove before it boils
- Pour it to the tea and drink immediately
How to Make Iced Matcha Latte
Some people have asked can you drink matcha cold. Not only that you can, but it is also fantastic, especially on summer days. Here is what you need.
- You need one and a half teaspoons of tea, a tablespoon of water, a cup of milk (cow or vegetal), ice, and a teaspoon of sweeteners like agave or maple syrup. If you don’t have these types of sweeteners, you can, of course, use sugar.
- Same as before sifting the powder in the cup.
- Add the sweetener and hot water right after
- Add and whisk the cold milk according to your preference
- Add ice cubes and drink immediately
How Long Does Matcha Last
One of the tea facts is that fresh matcha powder can last about one year if properly stored. However, our advice is to use it within 3 or 4 weeks after opening to ensure the freshness. If we want to stretch, then it can be useful to use for about eight weeks. If you keep it longer, you can make cookies with matcha powder instead of using it for tea.
Is Matcha Good for You
As we previously mentioned, matcha, much like standard green tea, has a lot of health benefits. If you are wondering why matcha is good for you, the answer is that it protects against cancer and cardiovascular disease, improves brain health, and so on. Besides, it is full of antioxidants that are tremendously powerful and efficient in stopping free radicals.
Difference Between Matcha and Green Tea
Many people are wondering about green tea powder vs. matcha, convinced that they are two different things. The truth, however, is that matcha is made of green tea leaves grown and processed uniquely. Unlike in other cases, when the intention is to produce matcha powder, the plant is grown in the shade for about three to four weeks. This way, the leaves maintain higher levels of caffeine, which makes matcha powder a better option if you are looking for something that would replace coffee.
The one visible difference between matcha and standard green tea is that the first one comes as matcha powder while the second comes in teabags. When you drink matcha powder, you are consuming the entire tea leaf and in a much more concentrated form than with regular tea.
When it comes to the health benefits of matcha powder, we can say that it isn’t different than when you drink traditional green tea. What is, however, changed is the fact that it has ten times the nutritional value of standard green tea and about 137 times more antioxidants.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are plenty of ways to prepare this tea. We hope that you liked and found useful our text on how to brew matcha. Our favorite is iced matcha tea, but we assure you that you won’t make a mistake whichever method you choose. If you liked this text, we would like to invite you to revisit us because you can read more about tea on mykitchenadvisor. We recommend checking out the text about green tea brand options.
