In celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, I thought I would share one of my favorite green treats.
Matcha green tea is blended with milk, vanilla ice cream and ice cubes to create a refreshing and satisfyingly delicious drink.
What is Matcha (抹茶)?
Matcha is a special type of green tea that has been finely milled into powder form. Unlike traditional green tea where the leaves are steeped in hot water and discarded, you consume the whole tea leaf when using matcha. Because of that, it is considered the purest and most potent form of green tea. Matcha has a robust, fragrant flavor and is often used as an ingredient in baking. It is also at the heart of a Japanese tea ceremony.
In addition to its unique flavor, matcha is widely appreciated for its associated health benefits, namely:
- Weight loss
- Energy boost
- Powerful antioxidants
- “Calming-alert” effect
As for me, I just like the way it tastes.
I wish I could say I came up with this brilliant way to enjoy matcha, but alas, it is a drink I discovered at Starbucks while living in Japan. Since then, I’ve been working to perfect it at home to save myself a small fortune because I could seriously drink one everyday all summer!
For your reference, these are the types of matcha I use.
They are a culinary grade of matcha for baking and making smoothies and lattes. Like most things, you will pay for the quality of your matcha with higher grades delivering deeper flavor and a beautiful green. You can buy matcha online or at your local Asian market.
Depending on the matcha’s quality, you may need to adjust the amount in this recipe. Feel free to adjust the other ingredients to best suit your taste, too. Sometimes I use soy milk; sometimes I substitute vanilla extract and a spoonful of sugar for the vanilla ice cream; sometimes I do ice cream and whipped cream! It really all depends on what you like, but this is a good place to start.
Next time you’re in need of a cooling energy boost, blend up one of these Matcha Green Tea Frappes and enjoy! — v.
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Matcha Green Tea Frappe
Ingredients
- 10 large ice cubes
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 scoop vanilla ice cream
- 1 1/2 tsp premium matcha powder
Directions
- Step 1 Combine all ingredients in blender.
- Step 2 Mix on high until smooth. Enjoy immediately!
