Today's post is another post I wrote a longggggggg time ago (almost two years ago!) but wanted to share again today. While I am 1000% a coffee drinker, I find it fun to add in matcha lattes in the later morning or early afternoon from time to time. Remember, with any health food craze- nothing is mandatory. Its simply a fun addition if you enjoy it! Now onto the post!

If you have never heard of matcha, it is a type of tea that is made from the young green tea leaves and ground into powder form. I love green tea, I drink it in the mornings at work and use green tea to make my kombucha. It is definitely stronger in flavor than normal green tea, and can be quite bitter. This is why I usually drink my in latte form and add just a hint of sweetness to balance out the flavors.

Matcha is made from the whole tea leaf, making it higher in antioxidants and also higher in caffeine. Amount varies, but is around 100mg of caffeine per serving, making matcha a great alternative to coffee if needed.

So let me get all nerdy on you for a second...This stuff helps fight oxidative stress (anti-aging), helps stimulate fatty acid during exercise to improve endurance, and is a wonderful source of antioxidants that reduces your risk of cancer, obesity and diabetes. Tea drinkers are more likely to have a smaller waist circumference and lower BMI. Annddddddd tea improves bone density and improves brain function. Have I convinced you of its amazingness yet?!

I purchased my matcha off of Amazon, as well as the spoon and bamboo whisk to make the latte. You can also find matcha at most health food stores. If you do not have a bamboo whisk, you can use a milk frother or blender (one of my favorite ways to make it extra frothy!) It is light and heat sensitive, so keep that in mind when thinking of where to store your matcha. Since I drink matcha 2-3x/week, I store mine in the freezer.

Today, I am giving you three varieties to the popular matcha latte. Classic, vanilla spiked with cardamom and chocolate peppermint.

Classic Matcha Latte

Serves: 1

Ingredients

1 teaspoon matcha
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk of choice (I used a combination of canned coconut and almond milk)
4 drops liquid stevia, or 1 teaspoon-1 Tablespoon honey or raw sugar

Instructions

Add the matcha powder in the bottom of your mug or tea cup of choice.
Add a small amount of hot (but not boiling) water to the matcha, and use your bamboo whisk to form a paste out of the matcha powder and water.
Add the rest of the water, milk and sweetener of choice and whisk until well combined.
If you do not have a bamboo whisk, use a blender to combine the matcha with the water and milk.

Matcha Vanilla Latte Spiked with Cardamom

Serves: 1

Ingredients

1 teaspoon matcha
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk of choice (I used a combination of coconut and almond milk)
4 drops liquid stevia, or 1 teaspoon-1 Tablespoon honey or raw sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of cardamom

Instructions

Add the matcha powder in the bottom of your mug or tea cup of choice.
Add a small amount of hot (but not boiling) water to the matcha, and use your bamboo whisk to form a paste out of the matcha powder and water.
Add the rest of the water, milk, sweetener of choice, vanilla and cardamom and whisk until well combined.
If you do not have a bamboo whisk, use a blender to combine the ingredients.

Chocolate Peppermint Matcha Latte

Serves: 1

Ingredients

1 teaspoon matcha
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk of choice (I used a combination of coconut and almond milk)
4 drops stevia or 1 teaspoon-1 Tablespoon raw sugar
1/2 T cacao or cocoa powder
2-3 drops peppermint oil or 1-2 drops peppermint extract

Instructions

Add the matcha powder in the bottom of your mug or tea cup of choice.
Add a small amount of hot (but not boiling) water to the matcha, and use your bamboo whisk to form a paste out of the matcha powder and water.
Add the rest of the water, milk, sweetener of choice, cacao (or cocoa) powder and peppermint oil (or extract) and whisk until well combined.
If you do not have a bamboo whisk, use a blender to combine the matcha with the ingredients

Enjoy!

XO, V