During a recent trip to Starbucks, I ordered my usual iced green tea latte and the barista raved, “Oh my gosh, that’s also my drink. I’m so obsessed with it!” I smiled and agreed politely that yes, matcha green tea is indeed delicious. But that’s not the only thing that made me smile. How awesome that matcha green tea has been gaining more and more popularity outside the Asian American community in the last few years. What many don’t realize is that the green tea latte has been on the Starbucks menu for quite a while. So long, in fact, that I’ve been drinking it since about a decade ago in high school (you know how teens love their after school dose of Starbucks). So why is it just now that matcha is bursting into popularity? For matcha fans new and old, what exactly is so enticing about that bitter and slightly sweet taste?
We’ve heard the benefits of drinking regular brewed green tea, but matcha takes green tea benefits to a whole new level. According to domatcha.com, instead of drinking leaves that are steeped in hot water, you ingest the the entire tea leaf that has been ground into a fine powder. The tea leaves are of the highest quality from Japan. This creates a more concentrated and more nutrient-rich tea, which is why pure matcha powder is bitter. Some health benefits are as follows:
1) It is high in caffeine and is a great alternative if you aren’t a fan of coffee.
2) It boosts metabolism.
3) It contains over 100 times more antioxidants than regular steeped green tea.
Matcha has become so popular that many have found other creative ways of using this potent tea in ways outside of a beverage. I don’t know about you, but I still hunt for those green tea flavored Kit Kats that seem so hard to find. Check out some ways people have incorporated matcha powder into their own yummy recipes. Healthy matcha donuts, anyone?
Feature image courtesy of sleepwarrior.com.
