A hot cup of tea could uplift your emotions, boost your energy levels and refresh you. These are not great scientific facts. These are everyday facts which you usually experience, after enjoying a cup of tea. You will get even more health benefits if you drink matcha tea.
What is matcha tea?
It means powdered tea. The green plants of matcha are grown in shade. So it contains more of chlorophyll content.
Matcha has a very interesting story to tell. The tea bushes are covered to prevent direct sunlight. This enhances the chlorophyll content and the theanine amino acid content of matcha.
The finest buds are handpicked and they are dried and stone ground into a fine, velvety green powder. The high-quality matcha has an intense sweetness and a deep flavor.
Unlike the traditional green tea, where the tea leaves are infused in water and then discarded.
In matcha, you drink the whole powdered leaves. So double the nutritional benefits of matcha.
The preparation is quite simple you add the matcha powder and boiling water to a bowl and then whisk with a bamboo brush. The movements should be back and forth, so you get a nice frothy matcha tea.
If you want to check out the preparation, click this YouTube link.
Nutritional benefits of matcha tea
Matcha tea is packed with antioxidants, especially the EGCG. This potent antioxidant fights arterial inflammation and promotes heart health.
The EGCG present in matcha decreases the symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease.
It increases metabolism and burns calories. Matcha is a natural detoxifier. It promotes relaxation and calms the mind.
Matcha helps in concentration. It lowers cholesterol and reduces blood sugar levels.
It helps to control diabetes and liver disease. Matcha tea has great cancer protective properties. It fights against bladder cancer, colorectal cancer, and breast cancer.
The EGCG antioxidant fights against a host of other cancers such as pancreatic, prostate, skin and stomach cancer.
It boosts skin health by the rejuvenation of cells. It greatly helps in weight loss.
The anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant compounds of the matcha green tea enhances joint health.
Matcha green tea is rich in selenium, vitamin C, chromium, magnesium, and zinc. So it boosts your energy levels and performance.
A cause for concern: Lead
All green teas have shown to contain lead, particularly those in China. With the other green teas, most of the tea leaves are discarded. You drink only the infusion. But not so with matcha. ConsumerLab.com says that matcha may contain 30 times more lead than traditional green tea.
So it would be wise to drink 1 cup of matcha and avoid giving it to kids.
Creative way to include matcha
You can enjoy it as usual or make iced matcha almond milk latte. Here is the recipe. Try it!
