Are you mad for matcha or yet to be convinced? We’re hooked on the goodness of this green stuff and reckon you’ll love it too. Read on for your green tea ritual must-haves below. Here are five brilliant matcha products to give you a natural boost.
What is Matcha?
You’re most likely familiar with the green powder and its virtues with the myriad products on the market these days as well as the trendy green-look lattes splashed across Instagram. For those not au fait, just like green tea, matcha comes from the Camellia sinensis plant. To create matcha, however, farmers shade the plants while they are growing them, and the lack of direct sunlight increases chlorophyll production and boosts the amino acid content. Once harvested, producers grind the leaves into a fine powder which contains more caffeine and antioxidants than regular green tea.
Matcha is rich in antioxidants and is said to combat anxiety, and stress and aid weight loss as well as promote healthy heart, skin and brain health.
Chasen Matcha Whisk & Clay Bowl
The best way to prepare matcha is with a bamboo whisk. Used for centuries in Japan, the whisks have lots of fine bendy strands and so are effective at breaking up the matcha to blend into liquid.
Create your matcha in a round ceramic bowl to perfect the blend.
Sous Chef has a range of tonnes of specialist independent cooking products online. We tried this matcha whisk pictured.
Chasen Matcha Whisk - £11.99
Japan Centre
The original place to fulfil all your Japanese needs since 1976, Japan Centre has a huge range of all things matcha from matcha Kit Kits to fresh matcha cookies that you can pick up in-store. For some reliable classic matcha, they have their own Premium Stone Ground Matcha Green Tea Powder. It’s grown and ground in Shizouka resulting in a rich and velvety matcha. Pick it up at Japan Centre Leicester Square, London Westfield Stratford, Ichiba Westfield White City or nationwide online.
£7.41
Sayuri
Beautifully high-end matcha makers Sayuri have spent a decade hunting down the top quality tea producers in Japan. Founded by a certified tea sommelier, the brand sources quality organic matcha directly from selected tea fields and a lot of time has been invested to develop their flavour range. Sayuri are the preferred matcha for many top chefs and restaurants in London and you can find them in Harrods and Claridge’s.
Buttermint Matcha – Bird & Blend – NEW
The brilliant Bird & Blend tea shop has a big range of matcha products from starter kits to selection boxes and a fun flavoured matcha range offering everything from pina colada to Jaffa cake matcha. New this month is their Buttermint matcha. Smooth and buttery, minty notes are combined with classic matcha to give this an extra buzz of mint. It’s just like drinking a classic peppermint sweetie. If you’re keen to get the goodness of matcha but find classic matcha a bit too bitter, this is a great option.
£20
Limited Edition Organic Japanese Okumidori Matcha - Ceremonial Grade
Clearspring has launched a limited-edition Organic Okumidori Matcha to celebrate their 30th anniversary. The matcha has been specially selected by Clearspring’s tea master Nagata-san. Okumidori means ‘deepest green’, in Japanese. The artisanal matcha is sourced from Wazuka, in Uji, Kyoto, a place steeped in eight centuries of matcha history.
£30.99
Ancient + Brave’s Matcha + Collagen
This product from Ancient + Brave will not only give you your daily matcha hit but it’s mixed with 2500gms of collagen as well as Lion’s Mane mushroom. Whizz this up into your morning drink for protein, boosted energy and improved focus from the adaptogenic mushrooms all rolled into one. Ancient and Brave is a B-corp-certified company creating a range of pure and sustainable collagen blends and supplements from fully traceable ingredients.
£34