Matcha green tea: what it is, benefits and properties

Matcha green tea: what it is, benefits and properties
Matcha tea is a variety of Japanese tea with incredible medicinal benefits and healing properties ideal to enjoy good health. Discover what this delicious drink consists of.

The Matcha tea is a delicious green tea variety, much softer and aromatic.
It provides many qualities and benefits for health when its consumption is regular.
In addition, it is commonly used in the preparation of beverages and desserts.
Japan stands out for being a country where the consumption of green tea is as high as for example in Spain what is coffee consumption. In addition, it surprises not only for the great tradition that it holds around this mythical and popular drink but for the great diversity of varieties of tea that we can find in this beautiful oriental country.

Among those varieties best known and consumed we can find Bancha tea (common tea), known as Gyokuro tea (jade spray), Genmaicha tea (variety of tea with roasted rice grain), Kabusecha tea (covered tea) , Hojicha tea (deliciously toasted tea), Kukicha tea (tea stems), Tamaryokucha tea (the popular green tea ball), Sencha tea (roasted tea) and Matcha tea (also popularly known as Matcha green tea) ).

It is a variety of tea that is characterized as a green tea so that unlike other types of green tea, it is presented and sold as a powder, with that characteristic green color that distinguishes it.

It is one of the teas traditionally used in the Japanese Tea Ceremony, and its presentation as ground tea is very common its use not only for the making of the own tea drink itself but also its use in the kitchen, whether in the making of classic Japanese desserts, ice creams, and biscuits.

How is the Matcha green tea elaboration
The preparation of this type of tea begins weeks before its harvest, when the tea plant is covered in order to hide it from the sun, creating a darker green color in its leaves, which also delays both its development and growth .

This habit of cultivation is what gives the possibility that Matcha green tea acquires not only that color so characteristic but its sweet taste because it allows its content to increase in amino acids.

After the harvest, the leaves are dried on a flat surface, the veins and the stem are removed and it is milled several times in order to achieve the finest texture possible.

The benefits of Matcha green tea
Very rich in antioxidants
Flavonoids are vegetable pigments that we find in many plants, and that provides a good diversity of benefits for our health. Matcha green tea is very rich in flavonoids, which means that it becomes a tremendously antioxidant drink, especially because of the presence of the so-called tea catechins.

These catechins have a very large capacity to neutralize the negative action of free radicals, helping positively when it comes to reducing the effects they exert on our body.

It also provides vitamin C, an essential nutrient to prevent cancer, strengthen our defenses and help in the process of natural cleansing of our body, for example preventing fluid retention or eliminating toxins.

High tannin content
In addition to being very rich in flavonoids, Matcha tea has a high concentration of tannins, which act as a mild laxative, which means that it becomes an ideal tea variety when it comes to improving intestinal transit, in a totally natural way And simple.

Help to lose weight
If we take into account that the tannins present in green tea Matcha acts primarily as a detoxifier, cleanser and mild laxative, there is no doubt that it becomes an ideal tea for weight loss and weight loss.

Among its recognized qualities in this regard, we must emphasize above all its ability to increase metabolism, and therefore increase the burning of calories by our body.

Reduces cholesterol and blood sugar
Precisely for its high content of antioxidants is an ideal drink to reduce high levels of fats in the blood, helping especially when it comes to lowering the high cholesterol and triglycerides.

On the other hand, it has been found that a regular consumption of Matcha tea helps lower blood sugar levels, being in turn suitable for people with diabetes by not raising insulin levels.

It brings vitality
Recent studies have found that consuming Matcha green tea on a regular basis is useful to bring vitality to our body, acting naturally when it comes to giving us energy. In fact, it has been shown that Matcha tea is capable of improving the physical resistance of those who habitually consume it.

How to prepare Matcha tea
The truth is that preparing a Matcha green tea is extremely simple. But for this, in addition to the tea and water itself, you need a fine sieve and a Japanese brush used regularly for the preparation of this traditional drink (in case you do not have it will be worth with a small spoon).

Ingredients that you need

2 tablespoons Matcha green tea
1 cup of water
Steps to make Matcha green tea

First heat a little water in a saucepan, and when it reaches a temperature of about 80 ºC pour into the cup where you are going to serve the tea in order to heat it. Then discard this water and dry the cup very carefully.

Sift with a colander the amount of Matcha green tea that you are going to use to make the tea (this time 2 tablespoons). Finely chop to remove any kind of impurity that may exist, letting it fall directly on the cup where you are going to take it.

Meanwhile, heat the equivalent of 1 cup of water, but without exceeding 80 º C. Then add hot water over the green tea and use the brush or spoon to beat the green tea until it is integrated with the hot water, and form foam. Ready! Let’s enjoy it.