Teapigs Organic Matcha
Written by Amy Castle
The health-conscious people amongst us know the power of green tea, brimming full of antioxidants and nutrients. There are some of us who need that tea or coffee caffeine boost to start the day and some who need a little help from natural teas such as green tea. I personally do not fall into either category (being allergic to caffeine and having steered clear of green tea in the past), and get my pick me up from caffeine-free tea (boring, I know). Despite this, I can really see the attraction to this little pot of concentrated green tea goodness. I realised before trying the tea that a lot of the health claims from products can have an effect on your mind and make you THINK that what you’re drinking is great for you, but Matcha tea actually made me feel calm when I drank it for several nights in a row (and with the majority of my final year uni work due in before Christmas, not much is working in the ‘calming down’ department, so that is saying something).
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 The Matcha tea itself is a bright green (no surprises there, then) powder and it is really fine in texture, like flour. The recipes recommended from Teapigs include mixing a ¼ teaspoon of the powder with hot water, fruit juice, warm milk, and even stretches to adding it to cakes and cereal. It’s one of those drinks that make you feel good when you’re drinking it, and it’s really versatile.
A friend of mine regularly consumes green tea and swears by it, and has commented on the somewhat bitter taste some green tea leaves her with. After trying the Matcha tea she was pretty amazed by how the taste was not at all bitter, and was in fact reminiscent of regular tea. In the pot, the Matcha tea smells like freshly mowed grass clippings (honestly!) and is really rather fresh and natural. When brewed with hot water, the smell lingers but the taste is truly different. To me, the Matcha tea tasted like regular tea without milk and sugar. I then tried Matcha with hot milk, as per the recipe inside the packaging. This ‘Matcha Latte’ was very different to the powder and hot water mixture – it was a calming and refreshing drink that I found particularly tasty with honey. Matcha tea is really flexible, and can be added to just about anything which is perfect for hectic lifestyles and on-the-go drinking.
Beware: a little powder goes a long way! At first, I was quite shocked that Matcha tea costs £25 for a little pot, but considering it boosts metabolism by a whopping 35-40%, is full of antioxidants and is great for energy, when you work it out, it’s only 83p a serving, so is cheaper than grabbing a hot beverage from well-known high street cafés.
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