You're probably already familiar with the marvelous health benefits of green tea. You may be less familiar with another form of green tea called matcha. Matcha is a green tea powder made from the leaves of tea trees grown in the shade and then lightly steamed to prevent fermentation and loss of antioxidants. This light steaming process also preserves the chlorophyll content of the green tea leaves which gives matcha its characteristic brilliant green color. The leaves are then finely ground into a powder form which can be used in a variety of green tea based drinks or added to recipes of all types. The benefits of match green tea powder make it a healthy and tasty alternative to traditional green tea.
Matcha is thought to be one of the healthiest forms of green tea since you're consuming the whole tea leaf rather than just the liquid extracted from the leaves. Measurements of matcha's antioxidant capacity has been shown to be many times higher than the antioxidant activity of such antioxidant rich foods as blueberries and chocolate. Plus, you also get the added health benefits of the high chlorophyll content found in matcha powder. Surprisingly, matcha has almost ten times the antioxidants of regular green teas making it the nutritional powerhouse of green tea drinks. Matcha is not only prized for its healthy properties, it also plays an important role in the Japanese tea ceremony known as Chanoyu.
In addition to the health benefits of matcha green tea, it also wins points for its versatility. The uses for this powder in recipes is almost unlimited. You can create delicious green tea lattes as well as add the powder to dessert offerings such as cakes, yogurt, milkshakes, puddings, and smoothies. If you've ever tasted green tea ice cream, this delicious treat was made using matcha powder. It's simple to create your own green tea ice cream by blending the powder into softened vanilla ice cream and refreezing the mixture. Matcha can also be added to a variety of savory dishes such as soups and stews to enhance their health benefits.
Although matcha green tea powder tends to be more expensive than standard green tea formulations, health conscious consumers are happy to pay the extra price for the additional versatility and added health benefits of matcha green tea. Matcha powder can be difficult to locate through traditional grocery stores and other retail outlets, but a Google search for matcha distributors will yield a variety of sources. Matcha green tea powder can also occasionally be purchased at Oriental grocery stores at a reasonable price.
If you want to harness the considerable benefits of matcha green tea powder, why not try adding this sweet tasting powder to your own culinary creations?
