World's Healthiest Tea

     Ever went to a smoothie shop and stared up at the menu only to find these bizarre words that have absolutely no meaning to you? Most likely one of those strange words is the word Matcha. Matcha is a form of Japanese green tea that has been grounded down into a bright green powder. Although it can be prepared as a traditional tea, it is most commonly found as an added ingredient, to things like smoothies, yogurt and even desserts.

      Matcha is definitely not a tea for everyone. Of course I'm a big fan but it has what you would call an acquired taste. Much like regular green tea, Matcha has a pure almost bitter taste to it that needs some time to get use to. But once you get past it's unique taste the benefits are out of this world.

     One cup of traditionally prepared Matcha tea has an anti-oxidant value equivalent to that of 10 cups of regular green tea (Simply because you are consuming the whole leaf). It has over twice as much antioxidants than the amazing 'superfood' Gogiberries. This amazing beverage also boosts your energy naturally, barely relative to its caffeine content. Matcha also speeds up metabolism and burns calories, without raising blood pressure or heart-rate. The chlorophyll in the powder also serves as a powerful detoxer.

     Matcha is generally prepared in a stone bowl with a bamboo whisk, mixing it into a cup of hot water. I tend to drink this when I'm feeling sick or tired and need a good picker-upper. It just makes you feel good. But like I mentioned earlier because of its powdery substance Matcha is an easy ingredient to add to anything. Personally I like putting it in blueberry smoothies, vanilla yogurt,apple sauce, or even other types of tea. Also Matcha can be found in a variety of baked goods. I do enjoy the occasional Matcha cupcake now and again.

     Now that you learned about this amazing super tea, who knows, maybe on your next trip to that crazy healthy smoothie bar you'll give it a try, you just have to get past the colour first.

-Sarah