Hooray it’s Friday!!! Welcome to the last day of the week, and today is such a lovely day too, with the sun high up in the sky and a warm breeze, it feels like holidays …

I bought matcha tea one week ago. Out of a whim. Or maybe subliminally Pinterest made me, with all those “Make your own Starbucks Matcha Latte” links. I never had a Starbucks matcha latte. Since I stop using sugar I pretty much avoid Starbucks because I discovered I don’t like their coffee after all. I’m not even sure they do those lattes at the Starbucks in London, but then again, I never looked for them. They probably do.

Matcha is a finely powdered tea:

I didn’t have a clue as to what it tasted like. That’s why I think Pinterest photos had something to do with it. Whichever the reason, it was a great idea! Matcha is D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S!!!

And green, I like drinking green things, it always makes me think of the Hulk, Green Lantern and Kryptonite, so I find green, specially bright green, drinks quite appealing.

And it’s sooooo good for you! This is what Wiki says about it:

By weight, matcha contains several dozen times more antioxidants than blueberries, orange juice, spinach or dark chocolate. There is evidence from clinical studies that suggests that theanine, when consumed by drinking Japanese green teas, may help to reduce or moderate mental stress responses. A recent publication by the American Society of Clinical Nutrition found that frequent consumption of quality Matcha Green Tea enhances the efficiency of the human body in utilizing energy. A study by Kao et al (2000), reported that: “We found that EGCG (found in Matcha Green Tea)…significantly reduced food intake and body weight.” This is because matcha works to suppress your appetite through regulating hormones such as Leptin which tell your brain that you are satisfied and full.

I think the best way to enjoy matcha is in a matcha latte, made with almond milk and some honey, nothing more. No complex ingredients or strange brewing processes. I’m not a big fan of those recipes that go something like “Pecan peanut butter caramel popcorn ice cream cakes“.

Simple does it. If you use them with care and attention, even the simplest of ingredients will give you something amazing.

Onto the recipe then…

I used one of this to whisk the matcha and to froth the milk to make it extra creamy:

but I read in some sites that you can just put everything into a blender and you’ll come up with a nice latte too.

Ingredients for 1 latte:

1/2 teaspoon matcha

200 ml almond milk

1/2 teaspoon honey (or more if you prefer it sweeter).

Note: Replace the honey with sugar, maple syrup or stevia for a vegan version 🙂

How to:

1.- Place the matcha in a cup, add a bit of water (about two tablespoons, but it doesn’t need to be exact) and whisk until the powder is completely dissolved:

2.- Warm the milk, add the honey and use the whisker to mix it with the milk and also to get some nice frothing…

3.- Add the milk to the tea and … that’s all! Enjoy!!

Go enjoy your Friday and if you can, try to do something nice for someone. Let’s make the world a nicer place to live in!

Namaste,

Paula