Emma Cullen sets out to discover whether powdered green tea can cure her coffee addiction…
Spring is a great time to get healthy and, of course, get ready for the upcoming sunny summer months, so when teapigs sent us a matcha kit to try and blog about during May, I was eager to give it a go.
This powdered, luminous green powder promises to awaken and rejuvenate me – much like a cup of coffee would, but without the energy slump. I already drink way too much coffee (don’t we all?) so when the offer was put to me to substitute my full-bodied aromatic beverage for a cup of the green stuff, I thought ‘why not’? After all, Buddhist monks have been drinking this finely powdered matcha green tea for over 900 years to keep them alert and focused for meditation. Maybe it will help me concentrate and find some zen this month, rather than coming away from my desk with the usual caffeine-induced heart palpitations.
As I am passed the paraphernalia that accompanies the small, delicate jar of tea I start to get quite excited at the prospect ahead of me. It’s not just a simple ‘dissolve in water’ affair (although it can be). There are a multitude of ways I can enjoy this over the next month, including mixing it into some warm milk (using the tiny electric whisk that comes with the matcha kit!) to make a kind of green tea latte.
Before I embark on my May matcha challenge and report back on my findings, here are a few matcha green tea facts:
- Matcha has predominantly been drunk in Japan, and it’s only recently that the rest of the world has started dabbling in powdered tea.
- Matcha green tea contains 137 times the amount antioxidants of normal green tea.
- Matcha does contain caffeine, but it works in a clever little way to give you a sustained level of energy rather than a quick burst like coffee.
- It can inhibit UV radiation damage to your skin, so they say.
- Teapigs matcha tea comes from the Nishio region in Japan, a place that holds the World Record for the largest simultaneous tea ceremony!
- Matcha tea is grown in the shade. This makes the bushes produce huge amounts of chlorophyll, which is full of good amino acids. Teapigs grind the leaves and package the matcha in the dark to ensure all the good stuff is retained.
Competition
If you want to be in with a chance of winning one of teapig’s fabulous matcha kits, complete with an aerolatte milk frother and a cute shotglass, enter our giveaway below. It’s open until the end of May. You can also use the code fedup to get 10 per cent off at teapigs.com until the end of June (excludes cheeky, bulk buys, pick & mix and matcha kits).
