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What is the matcha tea caffeine content? Find out everything you need to know about the perking up qualities of this delicious beverage.

We have found 6 benefits of matcha green tea in 2019! Start learning the benefits today by clicking here

Matcha lattes, matcha cookies, matcha everything. This glorious green tea has been buzzing around the health and wellness industry for sometime now.

For me, the love affair with matcha tea began about 3 years ago. It was a time when I was struggling with anxiety & insecurity. My lifestyle needed to change and so did my diet.

My mind needed some serious TLC and as I started to clean up my diet I made the decision I needed to make changes to what I was drinking.

 Coffee vs Matcha

Coffee was a major trigger for my day to day anxiety. It’s delicious, don’t get me wrong, but the caffeine content had me feeling jittery & scattered. I was lacking focus, clarity & calmness. We often set our sights on changing up what we eat when it comes to moving towards a healthier lifestyle but we tend to forget about what we are drinking. It all matters!

Coffee can contain up to 200mg of caffeine, sometimes even more (especially if you love that quad shot americano, like I used to!). It raises your heart beat, blood pressure & even stomach acid output! Putting your body through this regularly can be detrimental to your health and especially not great for anxiety sufferers.

Coffee can also inhibit the absorption of calcium. We know this mineral is necessary for healthy bones & teeth, but it is also a vital mineral needed to support our nervous system. In fact calcium helps to activate an enzyme system know as choline acetylase (3), which in turn helps to create acetylcholine, an extremely important neurotransmitter. As you can imagine the more coffee we drink, the more in interferes with the communication between our cells! Not ideal for those with anxiety or a lot of stress on their plate.

Matcha on the other hand has some amazing system supportive qualities.

Matcha is the ground up green tea leaf. Instead of steeping your water through a tea bag, you are consuming the whole leaf. This means we are gaining a boat load of nutrients including the catechins which are really powerful antioxidants studied for their anti cancer effects. But there’s another reason I started drinking this green goodness…

Recently science has discovered matcha contains the very rare yet powerful amino acid, L-theanine which promotes rest & relaxation. You see when we are very stressed or anxious, our body produces beta waves which trigger our state of excitement or can make us feel really uncomfortable and frustrated (which is exactly how my anxiety made me feel). L-theanine actually helps us to produce alpha waves (1), and these guys promote a state of relaxation AND alertness.

Furthermore the combination of caffeine and l-theanine gives us the ability to focus and concentrate without that jittery feeling that coffee can give us. (2)

So when it comes to anxiety & stress management being mindful about what we put into our bodies is key! Switch it up, after all, matcha is the new coffee!

CITRUS MATCHA

Ingredients:

1 tsp Lets Matcha premium grade powder

1 cup water

Juice of ½ lemon

Lots of ice

Method: SHAKE IT UP!! (Or blend it…) Enjoy on a summers day <3

BIO: Natalie is a holistic nutritionist & wellness coach who helps women struggling with anxiety, stress & worry. After spending many years battling herself, Natalie discovered holistic ways to keep her own symptoms at bay. This is has led to her now run a heart centred coaching business, providing busy women with their own tools to move through their internal struggles. Visit her website or follow along in her facebook community or instagram.

1. https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/pdf/10.1089/10762800151125092
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28899506
3. Staying Healthy With Nutrition - Elson M. Haas - 21st Century Edition

How do rare matcha recipes sound? What about interviews with different matcha industry folks? Did we see access to special deals as well? Yes we did! 

We've finally released our Facebook group to the public, which is so exciting for us! You can expect all of the features above, plus more. The Matcha Lover's Club was founded to share and explore the more unknown elements of matcha. We'll be posting recipes for matcha soups, cocktails, matcha fried rice, smoothies, savoury matcha meat dishes etc. Our plan is to break open your understanding of matcha powder and how it can benefit your life with regular daily use. 

Head on over to the Matcha Lover's Club and join now. Looking forward to seeing you there with the rest of our matcha community.

Join by clicking here.

Did you know drinking matcha can slow down the negative effects of drinking alcohol?

Matcha and chocolate are magical together. These matcha mochi brownies will stun family and friends at your next gathering.

 

Warmer weather means social gatherings, especially potluck dinners. If you know me, I always bring easy to prep dishes, like roasted veggies, or salads, but this year I'm challenging myself to be the dessert guy. Here's a great recipe for my current favourite cookies. Enjoy and let us know what you think in the comments :)

Ingredients 

• 1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons (9 ounces) all purpose flour or chickpea flour
•  1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon matcha tea powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons Earth Balance ( Vegan Butter ) at room temperature
• 1 cup Coconut Sugar, tightly packed
• 2 large eggs 
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups dark chocolate chips
• 1 cup roasted macadamia nuts

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 3/4 cups, plus 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Matcha tea powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Set aside.

2. In the bowl of a freestanding electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 cup light brown sugar, and 2/3 cup granulated sugar. Beat on low speed for a minute or so until just combined, before turning the mixer up to medium-high. Continue beating until light and fluffy, at least 5 minutes.

3. In the bowl of a liquid measuring cup, gently whisk together 2 large eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Lower the mixer to medium speed and alternately add the dry ingredients (from the 1st step) and the egg and vanilla mixture in batches. Continue beating until the batter is smooth, before stopping and scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

4. Turn the mixer back on to its lowest speed. Add 2 cups white chocolate chips one cup at a time, mixing for 30 seconds after each addition. Add 1 cup roasted macadamia nuts and mix until just combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

5. Position the oven rack in the centre of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 (F). Line several baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat mats.

6. Use 3 tablespoon cookie dough scoop to scoop the dough onto the lined baking sheets, spacing the cookies at least 3 inches apart. Bake for 15 minutes, or until slightly golden on the edges. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets on wire racks for 10 minutes, before using an offset spatula to transfer the cookies on to a wire rack to cool completely.

If you want to make your own matcha cookies, order and use the discount code Cookie10 for 20% off.