Ways to Use Matcha

Matcha is a powder made from finely ground tea leaves.  It has many health benefits and, since I don’t drink coffee, it is sort of like my coffee substitute.  Matcha is high in antioxidants, enhances memory and concentration, increases energy levels (with none of the usual side-effects of other forms of caffeine such as nervousness and hypertension), increases metabolism without increasing heart rate or blood pressure, provides substantial quantities of Potassium, Vitamins A & C, Iron, Protein, and Calcium (which boosts the immune system), and tastes amazing!

If you’re a big fan of matcha like me, you may want to buy a ceremonial grade matcha from a nice tea shop if you can find it.  I find the flavour much less bitter than some.  The one in my photos below is just from Costco and is totally fine as well.  You may also want to buy a bamboo matcha whisk if you drink matcha often.  They really help to break up the lumps.

Lots of people ask me how to use it so I’ve come up with three of my favourite matcha recipes for you.  I hope you enjoy!

Matcha Latte

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp matcha green tea powder
• 2 tsp sugar (or your choice of sweetener) – feel free also to use a vanilla syrup if you like
• 3 tbsp warm water
• 1 cup hot milk

Directions:

• Mix the matcha powder, sugar and warm water with a whisk until it is a smooth dark green paste.  Make sure there are no lumps.
• Warm the milk in a small saucepan and pour into the mug and whisk to mix the paste and milk together until smooth and light green in colour.
• If you have a milk steamer on your espresso machine, you can add everything into the carafe and the steam and pressure from it will mix the matcha perfectly without using two steps.  I actually use something like this or this.  Add the matcha, cold milk and sugar (no water needed), give it a quick stir or whisk, and the frother mixes it all together WHILE warming it, lump-free!

Matcha Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 1 cup lightly packed baby spinach
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh ginger
• 1 frozen banana
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons matcha powder
• 1 ½ cups coconut water or almond milk

Directions:

Blend in your Vitamix!

Matcha Ice Cream

There are more complicated matcha ice cream recipes that involve an ice cream maker and using a custard base (which are a little more decadent), but I wanted to give you a simple one that doesn’t require an ice cream maker to keep things simple.  I’ve played around to create this from a few I found online and it is a lovely recipe and super easy!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cold heavy cream
• ¼ cup cold sweetened condensed milk
• 4½ teaspoons matcha powder

Directions:

• Mix matcha powder in 3 tablespoons of hot water and whisk until smooth.  Let cool.
• Whip 1 cup of cold heavy cream until stiff peaks form
• Combine matcha mixture with ½ cup of cold sweetened condensed milk
• Add matcha and (sweetened) condensed milk mixture into heavy cream and fold carefully until combined (don’t over mix).
• Transfer to a freezer-safe container and cover with plastic wrap.
• Freeze for at least 6 hours or overnight

I hope you enjoy these recipes!  The photos below will walk you through my everyday fave, the matcha latte.  If you tried these please comment below or on my Instagram feed!