I would consider myself a coffee enthusiast. That is, if the coffee I’m drinking is over half creamer, and is sweet enough to cover up the bitter coffee after taste. While I love the caffeine sugar rush I get from this delicious caramel-colored liquid, I absolutely hate the crash. In fact, I feel even more tired than when I first woke up after the energy wears off. Not only do I strongly dislike the crash, but I feel icky after drinking my caramel macchiatos with extra, extra caramel. So I thought maybe I should try something else, and broaden my horizons.
My search began with tea. I genuinely like tea, hot and iced. I started with chai lattes, still somewhat in the coffee realm (I mean it looks close enough) and tried a “dirty” chai, which is a chai latte with a shot of espresso (I highly recommend it). Besides chai tea, I tried green tea, black tea, white tea, even lavender; which if I’m being honest, not a fan of the lavender. Though I liked most of the drinks I tried they didn’t give me the energy I felt I needed to get through the day. Then one of my friends mentioned matcha. Curious about this green drink that resembled blended grass to me, I decided to educate myself on this Japanese drink staple.
https://images.app.goo.gl/zsPUC7herFuFrfq89
To my surprise, matcha is a growing craze. Matcha flavored desserts, ice cream, candy, and even soup. I wondered why everyone was jumping on this matcha bandwagon. As I read an article by Healthline about the benefits of matcha, it all made sense. Apparently, matcha is high in antioxidants, boosts brain function, protects your heart and liver, and even helps weight loss. Besides all the health benefits, matcha contains about the same amount of caffeine as a cup of brewed coffee. A supposed drink that’s healthy for you AND gives you a kick start in the morning? That’s enough for me to give it a try, all I hoped was that it would taste semi-decent.
Matcha has an acquired taste, but it’s one that I discovered I love. I found my favorite matcha drink is iced with some vanilla flavoring. It was refreshing with just enough sweetness. I felt focused, awake, and throughout the day I experienced no crash. Plus, I can drink it every day without feeling bad about it, it’s good for me and won’t give me diabetes! I had finally found my coffee replacement. I’ve been drinking matcha for almost a week now and it’s almost like I crave it. Any coffee drink doesn’t even look appealing to me anymore, and I feel great, no sickening aftereffects. I am so elated that I broadened my horizons, why limit yourself when you could find something better? I think this question applies to life as well, maybe it’s realizing you’ve outgrown a partner, or you think you chose the wrong major. We should never settle, so matcha waiting for?
Reference link: https://www.health.com/nutrition/what-is-matcha