The Japanese superfood Matcha has been popping up everywhere. From Matcha lattes, to Matcha brownies, and our new Matcha Boost Balls. It’s even used to flavour green tea ice cream but what exactly is it? Matcha is simply ground green tea leaves. When drinking green tea, once the tea has been made, the leaves are discarded but with matcha, you consume the leaves. It’s a way more potent source of vitamins, nutrients, and anti-oxidants that help boost your metabolism, reduce your blood pressure, minimise the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines, and protects against heart disease than an ordinary cup of green tea. A cup of matcha also contains the same amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee with twice as many benefits and no caffeine crash afterwards.

You can add matcha to anything or you can drink it plain but keep in mind that not everything made with matcha is healthy (looking at you, matcha macarons) and some matcha powder comes sweetened with sugar or artificial sweeteners. You should also make sure that your matcha powder is organic as it’s possible for conventionally grown green tea to contain high traces of lead.

Traditionally, matcha is made using a special heated bowl called a chawan and a whisk made of bamboo called a chashaku. The tea is measured into the bowl and then hot (not boiling) water is added. The mixture is then whisked to a froth using the bamboo whisk which gives matcha a beautifully smooth consistency. Preparing matcha this way is also said to be a form of meditation as it causes you to slow down and experience what is happening but if you don’t have time whisk up your own matcha, you can easily pop into one of our stores and have a Matcha Boost Ball or order your Sinner with matcha for a guilt-free, sugar-free, and dairy-free treat that tastes even better than green tea ice cream.