So I thought it was high time I spilled a little tea about one of my faaaavorite things, a matcha tea latte! Every time I take a sip I think, it just got a little easier to be green. 😊

You may or may not be familiar with matcha tea or the hype surrounding it in the overall eat-better-be-better community, but it’s certainly no new kid on the block. It’s earned a permanent spot at the top of my consume-on-the-regular list. Let me break down some of the reasons why:

My Top 5 Favorite Matcha Tea Latte Benefits:

1. It’s pretty cool-looking.

Oh, I know. I’m the first to agree that looks aren’t everything. But they factor in.

Presentation has its place, right? Just sayin, it won’t be the least cool you’ve ever felt, slowly sipping some of this creamy, steamy, green goodness from your favorite oversized mug.

2. Weight loss.

If you’re already following a healthy eating and fitness plan to lose weight, matcha tea can make a marvelous addition to your collection of helpful things. It’s been proven to help boost metabolism and increase fat burning post-workout by almost 20 percent.

3. It warms your belly and your heart.

Matcha promotes heart health by contributing to lower cholesterol and reducing the risk of heart disease in conjunction with a healthy diet. Be still my matcha! 😊

4. It’s loaded with antioxidants.

The nutrients in matcha tea powder are concentrated and plentiful when compared to a run-of-the-mill tea bag. In other words, this ain’t your momma’s sweet tea.  The powder form extracts more antioxidants from the tea leaf, which means less risk of cell damage and chronic disease for you.

5. It makes you smarter.

OK, so it’s not gonna take the place of your favorite online course, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a better study companion.  Studies show that a two to four gram serving of matcha tea per day can enhance your memorization skills and aid in your alertness and ability to focus.

Not to mention, you can get all of that alertness on half the caffeine of a cup of coffee with no crash, thanks to a fancy phytonutrient called L-theanine in matcha tea. It helps the caffeine release to go sloooowly. Now that’s what I call smart. 😉

So, let’s make one, shall we?

Be wary of some of the matcha tea latte variations you’ll encounter out in the world, because they’re loaded with sugar. (Hello famous green lady, I’m talking to you.)

Here’s how I like to create mine:

Low-Carb Matcha Tea Latte with Almond Milk

Ingredients:

½ teaspoon Ceremonial Grade Matcha tea (I use this one)
1 scoop Collagen Peptides (because why not add some joint relief and healthy skin and nails to the mix. I use this one)
1 tablespoon Swerve Confectioner’s natural sweetener (or more to taste)
½ cup hot water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Directions:

In a large mug, whisk together the matcha tea, collagen and sweetener using a tea whisk for best results. Add vanilla extract and hot water (I like mine at about 175F, not quite boiling. Scorching the tea with water that’s too hot will make it bitter.) Continue whisking briskly for several seconds until the ingredients are foamy and a medium shade of green.

Add almond milk to a frother or use a frothing wand to foam the milk. I like this one because it heats and foams the milk in one wonderful step.

Pour the frothed milk on top of the tea mixture and prepare to take it easy for a little while.

(Hint: To make your matcha tea latte cold instead of hot, mix all ingredients except almond milk, as shown above. Pour over a tall glass of ice. Using a frothing wand or my favorite frothing gadget, add cold frothed milk.)

Yield: 1 serving. Calories: 87 Net Carbs: 2g Fiber: 2g Fat: 3g Protein: 11g