As I’ve got older I’ve moved away from my habit of chain drinking cups of coffee and gravitate towards tea most of the time (although pre-8am during the week I’ll be three coffees in and bouncing off the walls). My favourite tea is good old English Breakfast but I do enjoy herbal teas more exotic blends from time to time, one of my favourites of which is green tea, particularly with Jasmine or Ginger.
Teapigs got in touch back in April to tell me about their “Matcha May”, bascially an excuse to shout about all the wonderful benefits that Matcha green tea boasts. Ever looking to find a new brew and to improve my health and wellbeing I was keen to know more!
Essentially Matcha is a green powdered tea that packs a powerful punch. Chock-full of antioxidants, great for boosting the metabolism and to beat sluggish feelings as well as working wonders for hair, skin and nails this was one product I couldn’t wait to meet.
I’m going to be honest, straight up Matcha isn’t ever going to become my brew of choice, not straight up anyway. A splash of almond milk goes a long way to improve the taste, removing the undertones of plant that put me off slightly. I couldn’t face it straight up as a shot, but whisked in to warm milk or served quite simply with a splash of milk and sugar and this is something you’ll find by my side on a daily basis. I’m not quite sure that drinking it like that preserves all of the health benefits but you can’t win them all! The beauty of Matcha is that it’s incredibly versatile, I added it in to my morning porridge and it would work equally well as a power boost to a smoothie for breakfast on the go. In true Laura style I also managed to make a “superfood” in to something as supremely unhealthy as possible, in the form of cupcakes slathered with vanilla buttercream icing.
These couldn’t be easier to make, just whip up a basic sponge mixture (I used a basic 4oz butter, flour and sugar recipe with 2 eggs) and stir in Matcha powder to taste, I used 1tsp and made 12 cupcakes and the flavours and colour were spot on.
Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes at 160*c then allow to cool before taking the biggest bowl (or in the case of me, pre-made tub, oops!) of vanilla butter cream and slather it on top before chucking on whatever sugary embellishments you can find!
The overall effect was simple but a big hit! The green colour of the cakes envoked intrigue among my colleagues and the Matcha combined with traditional sweet and spongey goodness was the perfect compliment to the mound of icing. I’ve still got about half of my Matcha left and have plans to experiment more in the baking department- let me know if you’d like me to share recipes.
What’s your favourite way to enjoy Matcha? Never tried it before?
Stock up here.
Teapigs kindly sent me
this kit to enable this post to happen. Even Mae was impressed.
