He had been looking to switch from coffee without quitting caffeine. Jorge Villalobos, 27, bounds into the Burlington location of Teavana for his daily dose of matcha. All green teas are high in vitamins and anti-oxidants, but it is the direct delivery of the entire leaf with its highly concentrated nutrients and caffeine that has so captivated the public. After harvesting, the caffeine-rich leaves are steamed, their stems and veins are removed, then the leaves are dried and ground into a fine powder. Matcha growers in Japan, and increasingly elsewhere in Asia, shade young tea leaves for several weeks, enabling them to retain their nutrients and the intense color of early spring. Haruna Murayama makes a matcha smoothie at Boston’s Ogawa Coffee. Soon bakers and chocolatiers followed suit. According to Kenichi Kano, director of Ippodo Tea Co., a 300-year-old tea manufacturer in Kyoto, who was visiting Boston recently, Japanese cooks began experimenting with matcha as an ingredient in ice cream parfaits some 30 years ago. Because it pairs well in both sweet and savory dishes, it’s becoming the defining element in ice creams, cakes, soba noodles, even salt. Like vanilla, chocolate, maple, and other distinct flavors, matcha has its own personality, often thought to be an earthy lush freshness. This and matcha’s slower release of caffeine have captured the consumer’s fancy. Matcha has long been valued for its health benefits,īelieved to reduce stress, control blood pressure, enhance the skin, and aid in weight loss. Iced matcha lattes are also made at Peet’s, Starbucks, and other coffee shops. In Brookline, Japonaise Bakery and Cafe offers a milkshake with matcha ice cream, matcha powder, and milk, delivering a full-bodied matcha hit.
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