For years I waxed poetic about my morning coffee. The flavor, the aroma, the ritual of it every morning. It was an anchor in my day and got my heart started in more ways than one. I made the switch to decaf a few years ago due to chronic insomnia and the fact that I am, apparently, a low coffee metabolizer, it was still coffee all the way.  There was enough caffeine to get me going and there was no compromise in flavor or enjoyment. Never in a million years did I think my morning obsession would have any serious competition.

It seems I’m still learning the lesson of “never say never.”

While I haven’t exactly fallen out of love with coffee, I have developed a mad crush on the ancient but oh-so-trendy matcha green tea.

I know, I know, matcha is practically a wellness cliche at this point but I’m OK with that. Matcha has snuck into my life and I am smitten.

Given the fact that matcha is, like, the super-est of superfoods (think regular green tea on steroids), I was destined to try it at some point. Matcha is having a turn in the spotlight because it’s so high in antioxidants like catechins which are gangbusters for healthy aging. They help decrease inflammation, boost metabolism and immune function,  improve the skin, reduce the risk of heart disease, reverse diabetes, fight cancer and more. 

While regular green tea is great, you steep the leaves and then discard them. Matcha is the whole leaf in powder form so it’s up to 10x more powerful than regular green tea in the healing department.

My morning matcha does have more caffeine than my morning decaf but the caffeine in matcha is different that the caffeine in coffee. The difference is that the caffeine in matcha binds with its phytonutrients - particularly with L-theanine which is known for it’s calming effect. This creates a mellow alertness vs. the more common caffeine jolt.

The buzz comes on easy, hangs out for a while and disappears just as gently. It’s also better for the adrenals which is pretty important given the levels of stress we are all dealing with on a regular basis.

My daughter got to the matcha trend before I did and asked me to make her matcha lattes at home. I had recently started following several people on Instagram who often share beautiful cups of matcha recipes so between that and my daughter’s daily dose, I decided to give it a go. I made hers with almond milk, coconut butter, collagen peptides and the adaptogen, maca, to help her with some hormone balancing. (Side note: if you are living with a teenage girl, maca could be your new secret weapon. It’s a superstar!). She loved it and so did I. I’d never been a huge green tea fan so I was surprised at how much I liked it. The coconut butter makes it creamy and adds some healthy fat and the collagen peptides are good for hair, skin, nails and gut health. Like Lee, I add lots of cinnamon (which helps balance blood sugar) and adaptogens for an immune boost and regulate help stress hormones. Plus those green tea catechins! You can experiment with using other healthy fats like ghee or MCT oil, sub almond or hemp milk in for some of the hot water or even add a drop of your favorite food-grade essential oil like cardamom or peppermint.

Since adding a morning matcha into my day, my sleep has improved, my skin looks divine, and it has become the perfect vehicle for my adaptogen obsession. You can read more about adaptogens right here.

xo

Lisa