Review: The Green Teahouse Organic Matcha

Growing up, I saw both sides of the coffee/tea debate - My mom loves coffee, and got me into it at an early age. But my dad, on the other hand, loves homeopathic remedies, and introduced me to tea (with honey) to help alleviate my seasonal allergies. Because local honey contains trace amounts of pollen from local plants, according to my dad, it "immunizes" you against the allergens in your area. However, my dad is an engineer, not a doctor, and his great theory was less than effective (to say the least). But that's how my love for tea started!

Now, I'll drink any sort of tea - green, white, black, herbal, rooibos, chai, you name it. I love tea bags, loose leaf blends ... I've even made my own herbal tea from plants in my garden!

My indoor herb garden - Basil, Rosemary, Kale, and Peppermint - right by my sunniest window!

However, up until a few months ago I'd never tried matcha - basically the espresso of tea. Matcha is the highest-quality grade green tea stone-ground into a fine powder, then traditionally served with milk and sugar. Because matcha is whole-ground green tea leaves, it has up to three times the amount of antioxidants than regular green tea (where the leaves are just soaked in water).

 The first matcha I tried was Trader Joe's matcha green tea latte mix, but after looking at the ingredients and seeing that the first (and most abundant) ingredient was sugar, I knew I wanted to try a more pure form of the tea.

In West Hartford, CT, there's a lovely tea shop called The Green Teahouse that sells loose leaf blends and tea accessories. It was there I bought a little can of matcha, with the only ingredient being Japanese Organic Matcha Green Tea. Nothing like keeping it simple!

I immediately brewed myself a cup and added a bit of milk:

It was delicious! The matcha was bright and grassy, but still incredibly refreshing. The key here is to bring the hot water to almost boiling, but being careful not to let it boil, or else the tea will be very bitter. If you've never tried matcha before, I'd definitely recommend giving this a try! You can order The Green Teahouse's matcha on their website:

Cheers!