The Product
I wouldn’t exactly call myself a tea aficionado, but I definitely know and love my teas. I’ve tasted everything from green to earl grey with a few exotic ones in between like African Nectar (my personal favorite), and winterberry. Recently, the name “matcha” rose in trend. Matcha is an organic tea originating in China that is green and finely powdered. Supposedly, it has more health benefits than regular green tea. These health benefits include a boost in metabolism, an increase in energy levels and a higher amount of catechin, an antioxidant found in green tea known for its cancer fighting properties. Matcha tea also contains a higher amount of caffeine than regular green tea. Naturally, after hearing all this, I just had to try it. I purchased Lipton’s matcha green tea with added ginger (because I’m a sucker for ginger) and immediately set to making it. The matcha came in regular tea bags unlike the more traditional matcha powders, and the instructions also said to brew it as you would regular tea.
The Verdict
The taste is a bit weaker than green tea, but it is by no means bad. The ginger added the kick that I wanted as well. All in all, it didn’t have a bad flavor, but it didn’t have that wow factor. As for the benefits, well I guess I’ll just have to keep drinking it and go back to the original green tea powder to test the difference.
The Others
There are tons of other teas besides green and matcha for those who are first time tea tasters. Some of the more popular ones are black, white and herbal. Black tea has one of the highest caffeine concentrations of all teas, so if you’re like me and you’re not a particular fan of coffee, this can be an alternative. Like green tea, white tea is also high in catechins. Herbal is usually mixed with fruits and flowers to give it a sweeter taste. Researching and tasting teas is always the best route to go when you want to find out which tea is your signature one!
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