What is Matcha Green Tea Powder?
Matcha green tea is a kind of green tea that comes in a very fine powder form. It’s this fine form that makes it of higher quality and more coveted than your average green tea. It is extremely popular in Japan and is often used in a ceremony known as the “Japanese Tea Ceremony”.
Despite the fact that it is a tea, it’s used for a lot more than just drinking. Matcha is a popular flavoring for things like cookies and cakes, seasoning in tempura, a flavor of ice cream and has even made its way to the states and is used as a flavoring for Starbucks coffee.
Knowing this information, it is quite clear that matcha green tea powder merely refers to the powdery substance that is matcha green tea.
How is Matcha Green Tea Prepared?
There are two popular methods for preparing matcha green tea: “thick” and “thin”.
Prior to preparing the tea itself, the matcha is often run through an extremely fine sieve in order to break up large clumps and pieces and to achieve the finest matcha possible.
A small amount of matcha is placed into a tea bowl, then a very small amount of hot water is added. The tea-water mixture is then blended using a whisk until it is a completely uniform consistency. In Japan, matcha is often served with a small candy known as a “wagashi” because matcha is usually extremely bitter so the sweetness of the candy helps to offset that.
The difference between the “thick” and “thin” teas is the ratio of matcha to water. The thick tea uses about double the matcha and half the water that is used for the thin tea. Thin matcha is usually much more bitter than thick matcha, but because thick matcha uses so much matcha green tea powder, it is much more expensive to make.
Health Benefits of Matcha Green Tea Powder
Matcha green tea powder is extremely rich in antioxidants, even more so than one of the most popular antioxidant-rich foods – blueberries. Not only that, but studies have shown that matcha green tea can boost metabolism and may even lower cholesterol.
Matcha green tea also contains theanine which has been shown to help relieve stress. And heck, even if it didn’t have these fancy chemicals you could probably find relaxation simply because you’re drinking tea! Tea has been sought after for its relaxing effects for millennia.
