Matcha Tea 

First off; I need to work on my blog photography skills. But that’s another day.

Second… this is what matcha tea looks like when a mortal brews it; there’s no cute foam if you use water and a whisk. You’ve got to vitamix it if you want foam, and if I’m going to make a drink in the vitamix, it’s going to have cacao in it. Let’s be honest.

That said, I’ve started sipping this earthy green beverage with more regularity after reading Dr. Greger’s new book, How Not to Die.

Benefits of matcha: Matcha is a powder made of ground green tea leaves, and it has all the antioxidants of green tea and then some because you’re consuming the whole leaf. It’s a little higher in caffeine, too, so I reserve it for mid-morning at the latest. (I’m really sensitive to caffeine.) Tea has phytonutrients not found in other plants, and tea consumption has been linked to lower rates of cancers, lower blood pressure, sugar and cholesterol, and lower risk of stroke and cognitive decline. It even reduces your risk of drying from pneumonia. (Greger, Michael, and Gene Stone. How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease. 385. Print.)

Buy Japanese matcha: Dr. Greger points out in a recent video from NutritionFacts.org that there are some lead contamination concerns with green tea leaves sourced from China. Buying tea from a Japanese source is safer.  http://nutritionfacts.org/video/lead-contamination-of-tea/

Taste: If you like drinking unsweetened green tea already, matcha should be a relatively easy taste to acquire. However… it’s pretty grassy. It tells you something when the back of the package uses the phrase “vegetal sweetness”. I recommend starting with a small amount of powder and working your way up.

I like sipping matcha mid-morning when I’ve already had my two cups of coffee for the day but still crave the feeling of a warm mug in my hands. It tastes like you’re drinking something good for you, and that’s part of the appeal for me. It’s nice to sip something that’s not too sweet, that tastes like wellness in a cup. It makes me feel warm and energized and proactive… even if it’s just some ground tea leaves.

I’m also convinced that it’s going to make my skin glow.

I’ve got no evidence to back up that optimistic belief… but when there are no negative side effects, why not give it a go?

Ok, vegetal sweetness, that’s why not.

But seriously. It’s not bad.