Have you ever wondered “Why does matcha make me feel so good?” Well, if you haven’t, then either you haven’t had matcha, or that the matcha you had was bitter – the most common indicator of imitation matcha.
Unfortunately for many people imitation matcha is all they’ve come to know. So here we offer tips to make the best matcha taste better, and why it’s important to start with premium matcha from Japan – first and foremost – to be sure you’re equipped to distinguish real matcha from the fake stuff.
Just to reiterate: our goal is to bring you the best matcha directly from Japan. While we’re at it, we want to help you by taking the guesswork out of making an amazing bowl of matcha. You in?
Keep reading for how to prepare matcha tea, and easy answers to curiosities like “Why does matcha turn brown?” and “Can you add matcha to coffee?”
Trust us, it’s a lot more exciting than ‘matcha, milk and creamer.’ Nature’s original energy drink (matcha) can be prepared in many fun ways!
- Did you know: Not all matcha is really matcha; green tea powder only becomes matcha when it’s produced in Japan under careful cultivation techniques, drastically improving the amino-acid composition and health benefits of the tea leaves.
What can’t you add matcha to? Common Matcha Additives Explained
Really the question ought to be “What can’t you add matcha to?”, highlighting that really the possibilities are endless: matcha pancake cereal, matcha bread, matcha pumpkin lattes, matcha pink drinks, spiced matcha oat milk, matcha salt, the list goes on…
And that’s just scratching the tip of the iceberg.
Here’s our favorite 8 ways make matcha taste better + be healthier
Start with Real Matcha | Authentic Japanese Tea Powder
There’s no sense preparing matcha in exciting ways if you’re stuck with imitation green tea powder. Pay attention to the price point.
Drinking matcha starts about $0.75/serving – $1.00/serving. Although hyper-premium ceremonial grade matcha can extend up-to and beyond $2.00/serving, by being cautious first of price, you protect any of your stylish matcha preparations from being diminished from low-quality options
- Matcha Color: Also see our “What color should matcha be?” guide to help protect you from brown colored matcha.
Matcha Salt | Add Salt to Matcha | Add Matcha to Salt
This can go two ways. You can sprinkle some matcha powder into your sea-salt, or you may consider adding a few granules of sea-salt to your daily matcha. The former, matcha salt, is actually a culinary delight; adding a kick of umami flavor anywhere that you (or your cooking) call for.
- For this, we recommend First Harvest or Superior Organic
And though it might sound against-the-grain to add salt to your daily matcha, it’s certainly an option! Sea salt contains a range of essential minerals and trace minerals (just like matcha!), and may be used lightly to give your all-day energy a boost of electrolytes. Alternatively, you can add a dash of salt to some lemon water and enjoy that before matcha.
Herbal Matcha | Is Matcha an herbal tea?
Matcha Kari (matcha.com) co-founder, Dr. Andrew Weil, M.D., frequently recommends that people become familiar with as many herbs and spices as possible. That’s because each unique spice typically has helpful antioxidants and healthy compounds to help supplement our wellness.
If not more importantly, fresh herbs and the range of spices bring added depth to what we eat – and in the case of matcha – what we drink.
Furthermore, while Ceremonial Grade matcha is delightfully perfect in its own right, if you’re on a busy schedule and have time for only one health-amplifying drink each day, consider adding a few sprigs of fresh rosemary, sage, thyme, cilantro and/or mint to your daily matcha.
Each sip will be ever-more special, and you can experiment with what you like best.
- Herbal Matcha Green Tea: Consider the rich flavor of Single Estate Organic matcha, or give Morning Ritual a try for added sweetness
Spiced Matcha | Spices to add to matcha | Benefits of Spices
Take your pick. Similar to the herbs recommended above, spices offer a range of phytonutrients, trace vitamins, and a breadth of flavors which can optimize your daily matcha, and overall wellness. Options include: orange Peel, lemon or lime zest, cardamom, coriander; fresh ginger and turmeric root (or powder).
Unless you have fresh spices available, you might consider using a powdered form to help acclimate to the fine froth of matcha tea. As you make your selections, keep in mind your own taste preferences, and that high quality matcha green tea tends to be a savory flavor; citrusy and sweet spices often pair well with matcha tea for that reason.
- Vitamin boost: spices are concentrated sources of key vitamins, and may help round-off the already nutritious properties of matcha.
- See here for Turmeric Matcha latte by Dr. Andrew Weil
Bulletproof Matcha Tea | How to bulletproof matcha
Matcha is a natural source of all-day energy and may even take the edge off of appetite if you’re fasting. That said, one of the most popular adaptations of matcha is to make it ‘bulletproof’ by adding some healthy fats: olive oil, MCT oil, or virtually any fat of your preference.
We review what some of the better fats are here, including a few you might want to stay away from. But with your choice of a healthy fat, say by adding 1 tsp to your daily matcha, you may be able to optimize the long-lasting energy, while helping fat soluble vitamins in matcha to be possibly better absorbed.
Furthermore, it might be a natural combo to consider, because the antioxidants in matcha are evaluated to increase energy through fat burning.
Matcha to Coffee | Adding Coffee to Matcha?
“Can you add matcha to coffee?” Look, we’re not saying to do it, but if you’re going to do it, at least you should know that there’s some good reasons how matcha can optimize your coffee buzz.
If you’re going to add matcha to your coffee, it’s recommended to select a premium grade of matcha such as Ceremonial Grade (or Tenchi Matcha for USDA Organic).
That’s because of the more concentrated amino-acid content – specifically L-theanine. This specialized brain-boosting molecule creates a synergy with caffeine and may help balance against coffee jitters, caffeine induced anxiety, or the potentially detrimental effects of having too much caffeine.
- Did you Know: The caffeine in matcha is actually more complex than that of coffee; that’s a good thing, the stimulating properties from matcha stem from a range of caffeine-related molecules, xanthines.
This means the caffeine in matcha may be more biologically appropriate than that of coffee, but if taken together matcha may offer balance that coffee alone cannot.
Chocolate Matcha | Matcha with Chocolate
Matcha and chocolate go together in ways you probably had no idea about. The bittersweet flavor of dark chocolate, when enjoyed before sipping matcha, helps to bring out the deep, complex, and savory elements of matcha tea.
You can also approach matcha and chocolate together in a few exciting ways.
- You can take a bite of chocolate before your daily bowl of matcha
- You can make your own chocolate bar with nuggets of matcha inside
- You might even ask yourself what happens when ‘Ceremonial Cacao’ meets ‘Ceremonial Matcha’?
The ceremonial use of both matcha green tea and chocolate go back centuries, millennia even. Both also share in being rich sources of antioxidants, neuroactive compounds, and bold flavors – here, gleefully in accent to one another.
Matcha Lattes, Macha chia pudding, Matcha smoothies, etc...
The great thing about matcha tea is that you can add virtually anything to it. Even better, you can add it to just about anything as well.
Recipes including matcha lattes, chia puddings, and matcha smoothies can be found here to continue your matcha ritual in more versatile and exciting ways each day.
How do you make matcha? Matcha Recipes & Adaptogenic Matcha
It’s obvious that matcha tea is not only an adaptogen, but literally a daily ritual that adapts to whatever you want to enjoy it with. Whether you add it to something, or add things to it, matcha truly is remarkable as an all-in-one health elixir.
So we ask, what do you like to add matcha to? Feel free to let us know, and in the meantime stick to authentic matcha that you know works for your routine.
– Team Matcha.com
