Matcha latte – a healthy Japanese coffee alternative

16-2-2015

  • Matcha Latte

Leonie van Spronsen had a Matcha latte in Paris at Maison Kitsuné and writes about it. Matcha is known to be full of antioxidants, fiber & chlorophyll. When you drink it as a Matcha latte, the combination with the milk gives a sweet like flavor without any sugar.

A few years ago ordering a cup of coffee was simple, there was the American, the espresso and the cappuccino or if you were feeling crazy a latte would be the beverage of choice. Boy, things have changed in that department.

Nowadays everybody has their own special preference, white chocolate mocha with non-fat milk, a ristretto or an almond milk caramel macchiato, the options are infinite. But to say this made the coffee game healthier? Certainly not.

Matcha – a tradition in Japan

Meanwhile the Japanese were steadily persisting in their traditional practice of drinking Matcha everything. Matcha is a tea plant only grown in Japan, near the Yahagi River, and is a tea type used so often in Japan that sources say only 1% is used for export.
The health benefits are comparable to other green teas but with a much larger impact because the tea (and all other hot beverages made with it) is made from a powder that contains the entire leaf. This means you are ingesting the full scale of nutrients the leaf has to offer in comparison too just the brewed water you usually get with green tea.

Matcha latte

Matcha is known to be full of antioxidants, fiber & chlorophyll, next to this when you drink it as a Matcha latte, the combination with the milk gives a sweet like flavor without any sugar. In these times of increasing obesity, diabetics and highly processed foods – this might be the new flagship of the pro-health movement.

Matcha latte popular in NYC – is Europe to follow?

After already taking NYC by storm, the concept is now also slowly but steadily making its way to Europe. And why not? If you are into milky coffee drinks and have cravings for Starbucks drinks on a daily basis, you might as well switch to Matcha latte. It certainly contains less fats & sugars, it actually has additional health benefits and (not unimportant) it looks really cool. The question is.. how long before we consider a Matcha latte to be as normal as a cappuccino?

Website: Maison Kitsune

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