StyleChicks has long touted the value of green tea for glowing skin, for its anti-oxidants, for healthy weight loss or maintenance by kick-starting the metabolism, and for general hydration. Green tea makes for an excellent anti-inflammatory agent within beauty products, and holds many well-known health benefits. Staying well-hydrated with a quality loose leaf green tea is a beauty treat that cant be easily replicated. While most of us have heard of green tea, Matcha is somewhat less well-known kind of green tea. It is considered the equivalent of numerous cups of green tea, and has significant health and beauty benefits.

Matcha is a fine milled powder green tea variant. It is naturally lighter tasting than many green teas but not too sweet. This Matcha, as stated in the description, is a Japanese Matcha with a process that increases its’ oxygenation and affords optimal at-peak tea leaves. It is a fresh green, natural taste, sort of earthy, but not too overwhelming, especially when tempered with other balancing flavors such as vanilla, maple syrup, or a fruity blend. It is a very fine mill that blends well, which is nice to not find lumps of the powder in a baked good or smoothie.

This particular Matcha is a culinary-grade Matcha, not a ceremonial drinking Matcha. This means it is too concentrated for just stirring into your hot water to make a green tea as it will make your tea taste much too bitter. It could however, blend well into a mixed drink, such as a latte or other mixed beverage. Matcha adds a nice anti-oxidant feature to various recipes, which is especially useful in the winter when good, fresh fruit is less available. I like how pure the process is to avoid unnecessary chemicals or additives in the process or product. I am personally not a health-food devotee, but there is no reason to be exposed to excess chemicals, especially in a food or drink product.

This is a very good price compared to many of the Matcha varieties available, and just a bit goes a long way in a recipe; this bag will last for a while. It is easy to find several recipes online for smoothies, breakfast breads and muffins, protein shakes, even Matcha green tea ice cream.
For those who cook for finicky eaters, or are fussy themselves, there is always the issue of appearance. The natural green color, once mixed or baked into a product, is not murky or lima bean color, which might turn some people off from using the Matcha, it is a fresh springy color that is visually appealing.

This recipe was adapted from Gena Hamshaw’s Matcha Green Tea Chia Pudding recipe. She adds fresh fruit; mine uses almonds, and sometimes, dark chocolate chips. The pudding is a nice switch from a morning, mid-afternoon or pre-workout smoothie as it is rich in anti-oxidants, calcium, protein and healthy fat. (The Full Helping http://www.thefullhelping.com/matcha-green-tea-chia-pudding/)

I like this combo of Matcha and chia seeds to have some invigorating energy without feeling caffeine jitters. There is a point in the day that I really need a pick-me-up but I dont want more coffee because I have had so much caffeine that my heart-rate is about as fast as a hummingbirds. So I find a Matcha based tea, smoothie or baked item (some people even add a little Matcha to their pancake mix!) with about one-third the caffeine, gives a nice natural energy boost.

Ingredients

• 2 cups almond milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp Matcha powder
• 6 tbsp. chia seeds
• 2 tbsp. maple syrup (optional)
• sliced/diced almonds or dark chocolate chips to taste (optional)

Instructions

1. Add in the blender the milk, sweetener, vanilla, and Matcha together and blend in pulses until the mixture is smooth.
2. Add the Chia seeds to a bowl. Pour the liquid over the chia seeds. Stir thoroughly. Stir again every few minutes for the next fifteen minutes. Refrigerate for at least one hour or overnight.
3. Stir the mixture once more, add almonds to taste. Makes 2 servings.

Find Midori Spring ECO Class Culinary Grade Matcha at Amazon.

I received this item in exchange for my unbiased review.