What the heck is matcha? It’s popping up EVERYWHERE so of course we had to give it a go. And of course, we used it to make matcha chocolate because… chocolate.
But first… what is matcha?
Our friends over at Matcha Maiden told us all about this super amazing food. Matcha is 100% pure green tea leaves stone ground into a fine powder with crazy cool health benefits. Super interesting right? Instead of just steeping the green tea leaves and chucking them in the bin… you actually consume it!
Health benefits of matcha.
Matcha has 137 times the antioxidants of green tea! #amazing! It’s also said to improve focus, provide higher energy levels, boost your metabolism and immunity.
Yes, it has caffeine but way less than coffee AND because it has theanine (an amino acid) it actually gives you a calming affect. No coffee jitters or anxiety… yes please! In fact Buddhist monks use matcha during meditation!
What do you do with matcha? Great question.
Matcha is vers-a-tile… you can make way more than just sugar free matcha chocolate (however we highly recommend this!). Simply add to smoothies for an extra dose of good stuff, it goes perfectly in raw cakes (it makes a beautiful vibrant green colour!). Matcha lattes. Matcha bliss balls. Matcha chia puddings. Should we go on?
The only thing you need to remember is that matcha is super concentrated so you don’t need a lot (trust us on this…). Just 1/2 to 1 teaspoon per serve. If you add too much the taste will be too bitter and strong… as you get used to the flavour feel free to up the matcha-anti!
So how do you feel about matcha? Tried it? Love it? Let us know!
Always merrymaking,
Emma + Carla
- 100g cacao butter
- 2 tbs. raw cacao powder
- 1 tbs. honey (optional)
- 1 tsp. matcha powder
- 1 tsp. 100% vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- In a double boiler melt the cacao butter.
- Slowly add the honey (optional) while continually stirring with a whisk. Be sure not to heat too high.
- Take off the heat and add the matcha powder, vanilla and salt, whisk until smooth.
- Half fill 12 chocolate moulds and place in to the freezer for 10 minutes
- Add the cacao powder to the remaining mixture and whisk until smooth.
- Fill the rest of the chocolate moulds with chocolate mix and place back in to the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Turn out and enjoy!
- We're having a break from natural sweetener! But do feel free to add a tablespoon of honey like we suggested 🙂