Vanilla and cardamom spiked Green matcha tea Latte

The bad kind of summer morning is that when you wake up to realise that the temperature has unexpectedly dropped by 10 degrees last night. And that your body is not at all ready to leave the comfort of warm duvet and step out to the cold world. And then you get late for the work since you had to put on extra layers of clothes just in case it gets worse or better during the day. And finally when you do manage to enter the office, sip your morning coffee and look outside, the Sun is smiling and shining upon you. Yes, that’s the story of today. Mr. Sun is on its full power right now and I am sweating in my jumper now. that’s no fun, England!

Ohh and while we are cursing Britain’s weather again, I would like to appreciate the awesome range of health and world foods items that are available here readily. I was reading about the Green Macha tea the other day, and about the benefits it imparts to our health. Now, I am not too much into health food fads. But when kissmeorganics contacted me for a review for their brand – Organic Macha tea, I simply couldn’t resist. If you are not aware of what Macha green tea is, let me introduce you another super food of our time.

What is Macha green tea- Matcha is finely ground powder of specially grown and processed green tea. It’s special in two aspects of farming and processing. It is said that  one serving of matcha tea is the nutritional equivalent of 10 cups of regularly brewed green tea. 

The health benefits of Macha tea-

• Packed with antioxidants including the powerful EGCg
• Boosts metabolism and burns calories
• Detoxifies effectively and naturally
• Calms the mind and relaxes the body
• Is rich in fiber, chlorophyll and vitamins
• Enhances mood and aids in concentration
• Provides vitamin C, selenium, chromium, zinc and magnesium
• Prevents disease
• Lowers cholesterol and blood sugar 

I have never had a green tea Latte before that this, and I quite liked the slightly bitter and sweet taste of matcha. And with the vanilla essence and cardamom powder added to it, it makes fairly good drink for occasional cuppa.  Since I had kept the sugar quantity very low, like I do with my regular latte or chai, it initially tasted kind of bland. So I prepared it a second time with the extra flavours on and it tasted great. I am also planning to add this green tea into my smoothies and am sure the bitter taste would be absolutely balanced out by the natural sweetness of the fruits. 

And you can easily make the iced version of the drink by using cold milk and adding ice. Now when the Sun is shining full on, yes you can do it. You hearing that Mr. Sun? Huh!

This Macha green tea would be a fabulous choice for you if-

• You are looking for a healthier alternatives to caffeine and want to cut down on it
• You  keep a very busy schedule and want to incorporate some super greens to add into your smoothies and porridge, to boost them up
• You are keen to try new superfoods like Hemp, Chia seeds, Flaxmeal etc. and don’t mind the bitter taste
• You love experimenting with your food regime
• You have a high intensity workout routine and would need instant energy before, during and after the same. 

Recipe source: Just one Cookbook

Makes – 1 large cup

What you need?

• 1½ tsp. green tea (matcha) powder
• 1 Tbsp. hot water (not boiling water)
• 1 cup milk (I used full fat)
• 1 tsp. sugar (optional)
• ½ tsp Vanilla Essence
• ¼ tsp cardamom powder + A pinch for the sprinkle 

How to make?

Sift green tea powder into the cup to get rid of the lumps in the powder.

 

Add hot (not boiling) water and whisk vigorously until powder is all dissolved. The green tea paste should be smooth and foamy. I used a frother to do so, but you can also use a small regular whisk. Add vanilla essence and mix.

Add milk and sugar in a small saucepan. Heat the milk over medium heat until small bubbles start to appear around the edge of the saucepan. Do not bring the milk to full boil. Add cardamom powder and turn off the heat.

Froth the milk until foamy, about 10 seconds with a frother. If you don’t have a frother, you can skip.

Add the hot milk and foam in the cup and dust some cardamom tea powder on the top. Savour the hot cuppa!

Notes:

The original recipe didn’t call for cardamom powder and vanilla essence. I only added them since without the extra flavours, I found the taste a bit bland. If you already have developed the taste for Matcha, you may skip these

I am gonna try the same combo with coconut milk instead of normal milk. I have a feeling it will taste much better J

To make nice foamy froth, I use the my frother from Amazon that I bought for just £2.50.  This is not necessary though if you don’t care much about the froth on top of the latte, and it still tastes good without it.

If you wish to know more about matcha tea, you may visit these links: 

http://matchasource.com/health-benefits-of-matcha-tea/ 

http://www.thedailytea.com/taste/high-quality-matcha-know-difference/

Enjoy these Peanut butter cookies with Matcha tea