Matcha green tea

Options
I bought some matcha green tea powder. Other than having it as tea with hot water, what are some ways to use it?

Maura

Replies

  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
    Options
  • sylkates
    sylkates Posts: 173 Member
    edited March 2016
    Options
    Ooh, I make my smoothies with it every day in my Magic Bullet. I love it because it blends well with the bananas and fruits I like, and it has caffeine, which I um...need...

    Method:
    1. Put 1.5 teaspoons of matcha powder in bottom of heat-proof bowl
    2. Heat tiny amount of hot water, like 3 tablespoons or so, just enough to blend with tea, to boiling
    3. Pour the hot water into the bowl with the matcha and whisk. You're using a bowl because you have to whisk efficiently to blend it, and a cup or pot gets the powder stuck in the corners too much. I use metal mini whisks. I blend for like a minute total to ensure there are no chunks of powder left.
    4. To cool down for cool smoothie ingredients, put half of the frozen fruit you're using into the matcha bowl while you prepare the rest of the smoothie. (For me this is always half a frozen banana.)
    5. Put rest of smoothie ingredients in blender while you're waiting for matcha to cool. For me this is 2 teaspoons flax seeds that I grind in the blender first thing, 1/2 cup lowfat milk, 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt , 1/2 cup frozen berries OR 1/3 cup frozen pineapple or mango, 1/2 teaspoon or 1 teaspoon sugar.
    6. Combine now cooled matcha with ingredients already in blender and blend.

    Enjoy!

    Oh, and why bother with the heating up and the cooling down? It's because apparently the caffeine is more easily absorbed when the tea is brewed in hot water first. It's also easier to blend as a paste/liquid than as a powder.
  • janjunie
    janjunie Posts: 1,200 Member
    Options
    I mix it with vanilla ice cream, make green tea lattes and make green tea cookies.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Options
    I add it to vanilla Greek yogurt and smoothies sometimes.

    On a less diet-friendly note, I made these once: http://www.sweetestkitchen.com/2008/12/matcha-cocoa-cupcakes/ -- The cupcakes are very dense, but the matcha buttercream was amazing.
  • _angee
    _angee Posts: 24 Member
    Options
    Sometimes I add it to my smoothies with protein powder and a frozen banana