Making traditional matcha green tea is fun and easy. We are big fans of matcha, the premium Japanese powdered green tea that inspired the Japanese tea ceremony and provides the main ingredient in a variety of tea treats, including green tea lattes, smoothies and ice cream. Rich in antioxidants and nutrients, its complex and addictive flavor may quickly become a favorite of yours too. It also contains an amino acid, L-theanine, that is know to promote calm and a relaxed mind.

By using a tea bowl (“chawan”), bamboo tea scoop (“chashaku”) and bamboo whisk (“chasen”), you will be whipping up bowls of froty matcha in no time. Find your inner tea master and check out our video for more details.

Green tea ice cream is one of my favorites. Before I worked for Mighty Leaf, I always wondered how they made it so green and tasty. Matcha, a green tea powder made from ground Japanese premium green tea leaves, is the wonder ingredient. Rich in taste and flavor, Matcha is a versatile ingredient that can be used to make beverages like lattes, frappes and ice cream.  Some chefs add  it to gourmet chocolates, or sprinkle it on fish. Think of it as a spice, and use accordingly. If you’re looking for a unique spin on ice cream, with a bit of caramel sauce to boot, check out the recipes below.

Ingredients

Ice Cream

2 cups heavy cream
1 cup half-and-half
6 eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons Matcha green tea

Sesame-Caramel Sauce

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
Juice of 1 lime (reserved from above)
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
Warm water, as needed, to thin the sauce

Preparation
You will need an ice cream maker for this recipe. Heat the heavy cream, half-and-half and salt in a sauce pan over medium heat without boiling it and then remove from heat. In a medium bowl whisk together the sugar and eggs. Whisking quickly so the eggs don’t cook, pour the hot cream mixture into the egg mixture.  Return to the sauce pan and cook over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until the mixture is thickens. Make sure to not let it boil. Once the mixture reaches around 170-180 degrees, quickly whisk in the Matcha green tea powder. Add the custard mixture to a bowl and cool in ice water.

Cover and chill custard in the refrigerator for one hour. Add the mixture to the ice cream maker and prepare according to ice cream machine instructions.

Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. In a heavy 1-quart saucepan, bring the sugar, water and lime juice to a boil over medium to high heat.

Cook until it’s golden brown, swirling the pan a few times, but do not stir. Do not allow the sugar to burn; the mixture should become an amber color. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat the cream until it’s warm, then add the cream, a few tablespoons at a time, to the sugar mixture. Stir gently with a wooden spoon to blend, being careful not to splatter, as this mixture foams up the sides of the pan. When the sauce is blended, add the toasted sesame seeds.

Because this sesame- caramel sauce will thicken upon standing, thin as needed with warm water prior to serving.

Serves
Serves 8.

Prep Time
20 minutes.

Green tea is well known for it’s pure, sweet and delicious taste in addition to potential health benefits.   In Japan, green tea is the beverage of choice whether it’s paired with food, drunk on a subway platform or in connection with the ancient Japanese tea ceremony started during the 15th century. In general, Japan only produces green tea, much of which is consumed internally.  Boasting a distinctive fresh green character and appearance, Japanese green tea is processed differently than the Chinese green teas.  After the tea is picked, it’s steamed to neutralize oxidation versus the Chinese pan-fired method.  As a result the Japanese teas yield an oceanic flavor profile as opposed to a savory or buttery taste often associated with Chinese green tea varietals.

The quality and price of Japanese green tea will vary depending upon the quality of leaves and the manner in which they are processed.  A natural sweetness, oceanic-like taste is characteristic of high quality Japanese teas, as noted above.  The Shizuoka Prefecture, located south of Tokyo, produces a large precentage of Japan’s green tea overall.  Other areas well known for high quality green teas include Kagoshima, Uji (close to Kyoto) and the Kyoto Prefectures.   Uji, in particular, is known for producing some of the finest green teas in Japan. 

It’s interesting to note that Japan harvests most of its tea mechanically, and traditional hand plucking is reserved for smaller lots of artisan crafted teas.   A variety of technologies are used to harvest the tea ranging from large tractors with mowers to small gas powered hedge-like trimmers.  Even though picking may be mechanical the equipment is sophisticated and specialized to ensure consistency and precision of the harvesting process. 

Many types of Japanese green tea exist, but they are usually grouped into four growing categories that include Sencha, Bancha, Gyokuro and Matcha.  Below is an overview of some of these teas and variations.

Sencha: Sencha is a popular, every day green tea enjoyed in Japan. Developed in the 18th century, Sencha teas are grown in the sun versus some other Japanese teas like Gyokuro grown in the shade.  It has an aroma like freshly cut grass and taste reminiscent of sweet, seaweed or spring greens.

Fukumushi Sencha:  Fukumushi Sencha is steamed longer than regular Sencha.  The longer steaming process creates a richer and sweeter taste profile.  The infused tea yields a full-bodied liquor with very little astringency.

Bancha: Bancha tea is harvested late in the season and is often considered a lower grade than Sencha.  To produce the tea, larger leaves are used further down the tea plant versus the younger and sweeter buds at the top.  It is a mild and mellow tea with toasty notes that is low in caffeine.  Bancha pairs well with food.

Genmaicha: Genmaicha (Mighty Leaf calls it’s Genmaicha Kyoto Rice) combines sencha or bancha green tea with roasted brown rice.  Sometimes it’s called “popcorn” tea because the rice grains can pop during the roasting process and look like popcorn.  Originally created by Zen monks hundreds of years ago, it was also drunk by poor Japanese who used the rice as a filler for the more expensive green tea.  However, Genmaicha is now a popular, every day green tea in Japan known for its toasty aroma and rich flavor.  You can also find Genmaicha blends with Matcha green tea powder added as well.

Gyokuro: Referred to as “precious jade dew” because of a unique blue color and naturally sweet flavor, Gyokuro is Japan’s most highy prized green tea.   Grown in the shade from 20-40 days before its picked, the tea develops a sweet and vegetal flavor with a full bodied mouth feel.  The reduced sunlight cuts down on the formation of tannins which create a more astringent taste and also reduces the amount of photosynthesis that occurs resulting in increased amino acids, chlorophyll and caffeine. 

Hojicha: A classic green tea, Hojicha is made with roasted bancha leaves and stems from the late harvests in autumn and winter.  Yielding a nutty brew Hojicha contains less caffeine than other green teas.

Karigane Kukicha: Made from stems and stalks that remain after making Gyokuro green tea, Karigane Kukicha is also referred to as a twig tea.  This traditiona style of tea yields a sweet and delicate cup.

 Matcha: Made from premium Gyokuro tea leaves, Matcha is powered green tea commonly used in the traditional Japanese tea ceremony or the “Cha No Yu”.  It contains a highly concentrated amount of green tea antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, chorophyll and the L-theanine amino acids.   Matcha is unique in that the entire tea leaf is consumed versus being steeped like other teas.

Ever wonder how green tea ice cream is made or the green tea latte you had at Starbucks?  Matcha is the key ingredient, a tea powder made from premium green tea unique to Japan.  Essential to the celebrated Japanese green tea ceremony, Matcha is well- known for its health benefits and rich, intense taste.  Versatile enough for any season, this tea powder is ideal in summer for making green tea ice cream, iced tea lattes and green tea smoothies.

We have sourced a super-premium grade Matcha and a convenient Green Tea Latte and Frappe Mix, both perfect for mixing up ice cold tea concoctions that are sure to please.   Enjoy the recipes below.  Try experimenting with Matcha in new ways and let us know if you any recipes you would like to share.

Tea Smoothie or Frappe with Mighty Leaf Frappe Mix:

1 rounded tbsp. Matcha Green Tea Latte & Frappe Mix
1 8 oz. cup of milk or soy milk
4-5 cubes ice

Fill an 8 oz. cup with 4-5 cubes ice and plain milk or soy milk. Pour ice into a blender and add  Matcha Green Tea Latte & Frappe Mix.  Blend until smooth.  (makes 8 oz. cup)

Iced Green Tea Latte with Mighty Leaf Frappe Mix:

1 rounded tbsp. Matcha Green Tea Latte & Frappe Mix
1 8 oz. cup of milk or soy milk
ice

Combine 8 oz. of plain milk or soy milk and add Matcha Green Tea Latte & Frappe Mix and steam the milk using a steamer until it creates a fine froth.  Pour over ice. (makes 8 oz. cup)

Matcha Green Tea Smoothie with Plain Matcha:

1 rounded tsp. Matcha
2 tbsp. sweetened condensed milk
1 cup milk
½ oz of simple syrup or agave nectar
Two full cups of ice

Blend all ingredients together and enjoy!    Makes 16 oz. serving size.

Matcha Green Tea Ice Cream:

2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup Matcha Green Tea
2 cups heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup granulated sugar
Grated rind of 1 lime
Few drops of vanilla extract

You will need an ice cream maker for this recipe. The recipe has a slight green hue.

In a heavy saucepan, bring the milk and tea to a boil. Remove the mix from the heat and infuse for 1 minute. Put the milk mixture in a clean saucepan, and add the heavy whipping cream, sugar and lime zest. Bring the mix to a boil and stir until the sugar dissolves completely, about 5 minutes. Remove it from the heat, cool, then add the vanilla extract.

Chill the mixture until it’s cold, then freeze it using an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Green tea, which has been consumed for more than 4,000 years, has been the focus of many health claims. The earliest recorded book extolling the virtues of green tea is the Kissa Yojoki (Book of Tea), which was published in 1191 by a Zen priest, Eisai. The first sentence of the book goes like this: “Tea is the ultimate mental and medical remedy and has the ability to make one’s life more full and complete.”

Eisai thought that the bitter taste of green tea would strengthen the heart and free the body from illness. He may have been on to something, but it would take almost 1,000 more years to find out the chemical properties of green tea, and the implications for health are still being worked out.

What’s in Green Tea: The first thing you should know is that green tea contains caffeine. How much? You may be surprised to learn that a cup of green tea brewed for 5 minutes will have nearly as much as a cup of freshly ground coffee – 32mg.  ( Please note, however, that on average brewing times for green teas usually range from 2-3 minutes. ) The longer it’s brewed, the more caffeine will be released – a standard tea bag has about 50mg caffeine.   The leaves also contain the caffeine metabolites theophylline and theobromine, which act much like caffeine but also have anti-asthma properties.

But most of the excitement about green tea comes from those bitter tasting compounds, which are collectively known as catechins. These flavonoids make up about 25% of the weight of a green tea leaf, although the exact proportion can vary by location and growing conditions. The most common catechin in green tea is epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and is a powerful antioxidant.

The idea that this compound can reduce inflammation has led to most of the health claims, real and otherwise.  Although brewing the tea with water at 165°-175° (ideal brewing temperature for green tea) can damage the catechins, several have pointed out that this method has probably saved millions of lives over the years by killing the bacteria responsible for cholera and typhoid fever!

The Evidence: The health benefits of tea is such a big subject that there are multiple yearly scientific meetings. I can’t possibly cover all of the evidence but I will make a general statement and look at one study in particular. The statement is that the gold standard in clinical studies is the randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled trial – and there have been none of these published to back up the big claims. In fact, the FDA has rejected petitions to claim that green tea reduces the risk of cancer and the risk of heart disease.

The most interesting study published to date (JAMA, Sept 2006) followed a group of 40,530 Japanese adults for about a decade. 4,209 people died, and the authors determined that drinking green tea had a protective effect from overall death. Men who drank five or more cups per day had a 12% lower risk of dying, and women were even better off, with a 23% lower risk of dying.

These figures held up to statistical testing, although for the men the lower risk could be as low as 2%, statistically speaking. When the authors looked at subsets of the cohort (known as subgroup analysis) they couldn’t find any benefit in preventing cancer-related mortality, but they did find reduced death from cardiovascular causes, especially stroke, in the heavy drinking folks.

Future Studies: So now that the evidence is starting to build that green tea might protect people from dying, especially from cardiovascular disease, and stroke to be specific, what’s next? For starters, it would be nice to see the results of the Japanese study replicated in other parts of the world. There are currently 28 studies in the United States recruiting subjects to look at a variety of disease responses, from cancer to diabetes to osteoporosis, although most of these are small trials. In conclusion, Eisai could be right – drinking large quantities of green tea really might save your life. Stay tuned!