Watch out kale, there’s a new green on the loose and it’s taking over your foodstagram feed. What is it, you ask? It’s matcha, the purest leaves from green tea ground down into powdered form. In addition to being delicious served hot or cold, green tea has many health benefits, such as boosting your metabolism and helping to keep you calm. Believe it or not, matcha has all the benefits green tea has plus some extra benefits too. And because matcha comes in a powdered form, we don’t just have to drink it, we can also eat it in matcha pancakes, cookies, and even macarons!
What you need to know:
Why should you be drinking matcha at all? One cup of matcha has ¾ the amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee without any of the jittery feelings. The caffeine inside matcha has a long lasting effect that keeps you alert longer than drinking one cup of coffee would. Matcha itself is also one of the most powerful antioxidants, so just one cup of matcha is giving you all the vitamins you could possibly ask for. Similarly, it is composed of another amino acid called L-Theanine which is often thought of as a vitamin that helps calm and heal the brain. Not only is L-Theanine one of the reasons that you often don’t feel jittery after drinking a cup of matcha, but it also helps you maintain that calm energy throughout the day. Most importantly, more than sixty percent of matcha is composed of a special antioxidant called EGCG. This antioxidant is not only extremely effective at keeping the immune system healthy, but when combined with caffeine it also helps boost your metabolism. This is the reason why matcha is often known to be helpful when trying to lose weight.
Where you can get it:
It seems like lately all successful trends are starting in Brooklyn, New York—Williamsburg, to be exact—and that’s exactly where the first matcha cafe has set up shop. This cute, quiet cafe is aptly named Matcha Bar, and it is here that you can enjoy matcha in many different ways: from lattes to green juice. While Matcha Bar seems to be the only spot that is dedicated solely to producing matcha products, other cafes found in downtown Manhattan like Chalait and even the Doughnut Plant seem to be catching on to the matcha trend fairly quickly.
Matcha is derived from the purest form of the green tea leaves; its naturally sweet flavor makes it easy to incorporate into many different types of dishes. Tasty, healthy, and on it’s way to becoming the hottest trend – what are you waiting for? Go grab a delicious matcha latte and upload it on the ‘gram while you’re at it.
Want to know more?
http://nymag.com/thecut/2015/06/why-is-everyone-drinking-matcha.html
http://matchabarnyc.com/health#about
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/12/matcha-powder-recipes_n_6432740.html