A New Morning Beverage

A couple months ago I easily gave up the morning jo (except occasionally...like on vaca). My morning cup-o-sludge was replaced with a seemingly better choice. After my greens and multiple glasses of water I was making myself chai tea with a tinge of cream and lots of honey. Comforting...yes, a healthy coffee replacement...not so much. It may have been little better that the roasted beans in coffee, but after some research (and reading CSD) black tea is still not something I want to be putting in my body every day and neither is cream.

On a quest for a nutritious, yet tasty and comforting morning bev, I scooted on over to Spice Girls/Aribona on Hillview and picked me up a bottle of Organic Matcha Green Tea Powder. At the time, the lovely and very knowledgeable employee (may have been the owner) prepared it her way, which was awesome. Shaken with ice, lemon and agave, which in my opinion, it was the perfect summer afternoon drink. It still did give me the morning comfort I was seeking. So this morning I decided to try it my way...in warm/hot water sweetened with agave and dashed with Hemp milk. YUM YUM YUM and oh so comforting.

Now mind you, matcha powder is not cheap, especially given the crisis that occurred in Japan. Have no fear it is not "radiation tea," import costs are just on the rise. Still matcha tea is pennies in comparison to a Starbucks latte and with so many healthy attribute. Throw in the hemp milk and you have the ideal "morning bev with benefits."

Match powder is made with stone ground green tea leaves, no steeping required. It is very concentrated and a little goes a long way. And since you are consuming the whole leaf, you are getting loads of cancer fighting and preventing antioxidants. According to the nifty brochure I took with me it also detoxifies the body, speeds up metabolism, cleanses the digestive system, improves allergies and eczema, slows the aging process, promotes good oral hygiene, controls high blood pressure, and lowers blood sugar. Wa-Wah-Wee-Wah!

It should be noted that green tea matcha tastes similar to green tea (dah!) but with a heartier, thicker consistency. So if you do not like green tea, you may not like the taste of matcha. But there are ways to slightly mask the "green" flavor:

• mix with lemonade
• add to your fruit smoothie
• sprinkle on your stir fry
• add to yogurt
• put in your baking
• make ice cream with it

Hemp milk rant is for another day but let's just say it is loaded with Omega's and that is a major plus in my book. If you are not quite ready to give up the morning Starbucks run, I have an idea. Switch out your mocha-choca-latte for a green tea latte and see how you feel. Yes, Starbucks does offer matcha and yes, you will pay a ridiculous amount of mula for it. But if you like it, you can get your own and have it any time you want!