What Is Matcha And How It Can Improve Your Health?
As a true tea enthusiast, you find yourself here looking for the answers to the questions – What is Matcha? What are the health benefits of drinking it? How to prepare? Read on to discover the answer and the other interesting facts.
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Brief History
Green tea has its roots in China’s history of the 8th century, while powdered tea was first made from steam-prepared dried tea leaves in the 12th century. In those days, a Buddhist monk, Myoan Eisai, discovered matcha and brought it to Japan.
He found that his Zen meditation sessions would improve due to a state of calm alertness. These effects are attributable to matcha’s caffeine and L-theanine.
Matcha Is A Tea or Coffee?
It seems that matcha is everywhere these days, from health stores to coffee shops, with lattes, teas, and desserts. Although Matcha comes from the Camellia Sinensis plant as well as green tea, these two similar products are grown differently. Also, their preparation isn’t the same. Green tea leaves are infused in the water, and you have to whisk Matcha powder into the water.
In this case, the Camellia Sinensis plant is grown in the shade (early to mid-April) for about three weeks before it is carefully picked, dried, and ground into a fine green powder.
In fact, Matcha is a fine green tea powder, made from shade-grown young tea leaves. The final powder is produced by stone milling. Actually, these days it is produced with machines.
How to Prepare Matcha?
Firstly, you’ll need Matcha making kit which includes Bowl, Bamboo Whisk, Wooden Scoop, and Sifter.
- Grab a teaspoon of your matcha powder and run it through your sifter
- Pour 2 oz of hot water into a tea mug
- Using a Matcha whisk or regular whisk move around from side to side, back and forward
- When you see the froth has formed add more hot water to your bowl or tea mug
If you are going for Matcha Latte, then in the last step instead of adding more water you should add 4 oz – 6 oz of milk.
Your vibrant green-colored drink is ready! This could be your new morning routine since you learned how to make your own.
Health benefits
Clearly, these worldwide popular fine powder teas have numerous positive impacts on your health. It may boost your immune system and help you to lose weight.
Compared to green tea, Matcha powder contains more caffeine and antioxidants due to the nutrients extracted from the entire tea leaf. Furthermore, L-theanine is a compound known as a stress and anxiety reducer.
As a result, a combination of caffeine and L-theanine may improve attention, memory, and reaction time. You will feel energized and calm at the same time.
Those sensitive to caffeine should know that a cup of Matcha tea can contain about 70 mg of caffeine while a cup of green tea contains about 30 mg.
