Green teas are known for their nutritious and detoxifying characteristics and have been ranked amongst the healthiest beverages on the planet. Usually consumed by brewing and extracting the nutrition from these tea leaves, Matcha green tea is an exception ! Consumed as powdered leaves, I like to call it the “Power house of Antioxidants”. The brilliant light green color speaks itself about its promise of good health. DSB makes a fuss free and good old Latte using this magical ingredient called – Matcha !
For those who have never heard about it or never tried this magical ingredient, you are surely missing something so awesome ! As a long standing tradition of Japanese culture, Matcha Green Tea is the highest quality powdered green tea around. I have heard that drinking a cup of matcha a day enhances the quality and longevity of life. I guess this fact itself makes this drink an attractive deal. Well i guess, the main difference is the fact that this is actually the “powdered whole green tea leaf”. When you consumes this, you are actually taking the full benefits of this amazing green tea and not just the extracts.
I discovered and tried this amazing drink only a couple of months back. I was in a coffee shop to spend sometime reading and collecting thoughts for a DSB post entry. I love coffee shops as they give me so much “food for thought”. People from all walks of life share a common space and open the doors of their lives for a sneak peek while enjoying their coffees. The conversations and energy in these spaces are addictive and often leave me thinking of good things in life. With a cup of some interesting coffee house finds and some wonderful thoughts running in my mind, the day is made simply great and productive.
Coffee shops are surely interesting with their menus. With over 30 variants of just a simple coffee, one can never get bored of these places. Off course then there are amazing, rich lattes, frappes, shakes and smoothies – something for every taste bud. I usually am very adventurous with my choices and fully utilize the potential “fun ” quotient while picking up my “beverage” of the day. One such fine sunny afternoons, sometime in the rosey winters, i see a new drink in the list of my “fancy, one in a while” coffee shop. With the names so unique and catchy, i almost jumped and ordered my first “Matcha Latte”. What came was a great looking, frothy, rich and creamy green drink. You are so going to laugh now when i tell u what i thought !! My first reaction was – Avocados in a milk beverage and they call that Matcha? Is it a fancy name coded by the coffee shop? Off course i am showing off my “lack of knowledge” here but that is exactly what i thought. I could never imagine that this was a green tea drink. I went back to the ordering desk and asked what this drink order of mine contained and i was almost startled when they told me it was “Green tea” ! I was like – WOW !
Green teas are usually consumed without milk and the mantra is “simpler, the better”. Many people consume green tea without any added sugar/sweetner. I am not sure how many people actually like it that way but there goes the saying ” have to lose some, to gain some”. Well Matcha is an awesome welcome to green tea lovers who want to try something fun with teas. Cook with it, Bake it, Add in with milk or consume the typical green tea style, this green tea is supreme!
I would highly recommend everyone to give this a go. Once i read through its amazing benefits, i went ahead and bought it right away. Here, there is one advice… Matcha is a rare find and only produced in some parts of Japan, making it a very expensive drink. It is actually referred to as “Green gold” in some places – mostly for its properties but i assume also for its price. If u are buying and trying for the first time, i would suggest you buy a very small quantity and try it for a while to see if you want to invest in this… Well i would , for sure ! I went ahead and bought a 100gms bag for about $25 – expensive but so totally worth it 🙂
Here, i have a simple Matcha green tea latte recipe for you to try and get amazed. The recipe actually makes the drink so yummy that you would probably never have to go back to your “fancy coffee shop” to try this.
Matcha Power Latte
matcha Power Latte
Recipe
- 1/2 tsp Matcha green tea powder
- 1 tablespoon milk powder
- 1 tsp Sugar (or to taste)
- 250 ml Milk (2-3% fat content)
- 50 ml lukewarm water
Method
- First, take a cup and to this sift in the Matcha green tea powder. Sifting is important so that there are no lumps and we have fine powder in the cup.
- Next, add in the milk powder and mix well. Now, pour in the lukewarm water and mix well. Once it is combined well, take a frother/whisk and whisk it well so that the mixture is foamy and frothy. The whisking will help in incorporating air into the latte and make it a light but rich, foamy drink.
- Now, take a separate saucepan and to this add in the milk and sugar. Let the milk heat up for about a minute or till it is medium hot but not boiling. With the help of a frother/whisk, you can whisk it for about 10-15 seconds. If u want to make a cold Matcha Latte, do not heat the milk and add sugar with milk powder and Matcha powder in the previous step itself.
- Pour the Milk into the cup containing the Matcha mixture and mix combine gently. Matcha power latte is ready !
Making a green tea latte does not get simpler than this. This drink is a delight ! The taste is unique and might take some time for some to get accustomed to it. Luckily, the first time i had it, i liked the uniqueness of the taste and i continued to trying out variation with this power green tea.
I actually feel fresh after having a cup of this. Every sip makes you feel that your body is getting detoxified in the most delicious way !! What’s better than that 🙂
