Vanilla Matcha Green Tea - Loose Leaf

It's not every day one discovers a tea as satisfying and enriching as Vanilla Matcha. As your matcha whisk froths up the brew, warming notes of exotic vanilla fill the air, interlaced with the subtly sweet aroma of astringent green tea. As the steam rises, your mind drifts to faraway tea fields and calming groves of vanilla trees. It's a perfect tea moment.

While not written specifically for our hand-crafted, stone ground Vanilla Matcha, this short poem by tea poet Faith Greenbowl captures the sentiment better than most:

Steam rises from a cup of tea
and we are wrapped in history,
inhaling ancient times and lands,
comfort of ages in our hands.

So, just how did we concoct this blend of historic flavor? For the most part, our recipe is a closely guarded secret passed on to us by an ancient tea master in Fukuoka. What we can tell you is that we've crafted the blend by grinding premium green tea in our own matcha grinder, and adding 100% all-natural vanilla flavoring for a superb, exceedingly round character. Froth up a cup and drift away in a vanilla dream.

Ingredients:Green tea, Natural flavors (organic compliant).

Hot tea brewing method: Bring filtered or freshly drawn water to a rolling boil and let cool to roughly 180°F/°C. Place approximately of a teaspoon of Matcha in your cup. Infuse with 8 ounces/250 milliliter of water, whisk briskly and enjoy.

Ceremonial Matcha: Please note that in order to brew Ceremonial Matcha you will need a set of Japanese tea ceremony tools. (Bowls, scoops, and a whisk).

• Prepare tea bowls by warming them with boiled water
• Prepare your Matcha whisk by soaking the tip in the boiled water in one of the bowls for about 10 seconds
• Pour the water out and dry the bowl with a paper towel
• Using your teaspoon, add 2 scoops of Matcha to each bowl
• Pour ⅓ of a cup of your hot water into each bowl
• In a slow "m" motion, submerge any loose bits of Matcha that may be floating on the surface of the tea
• Whisk the tea more briskly in a back and forth motion until the surface of the Matcha becomes frothy
• Consume immediately. (In Japan, it is customary to drink the entire bowl in 3 quick slurps)

Hot matcha latte brewing methods - fast method: Use ½ teaspoon (1 gram) per 8 ounce (225 milliliter) serving. Add ½ teaspoon (1 gram) to base of cup and add 2 ounces of hot water & mix vigorously to make a smooth paste-like liquid. Top with freshly steamed milk (or substitute) and sweeten to taste. (Try maple syrup or honey)

Iced matcha latte brewing methods: Use ½ teaspoon (1 gram) per 8 ounce (225 millliliter) serving. Add ½ teaspoon (1 gram) to base of cup and add 2 ounces of hot water and mix vigorously to make a smooth paste-like liquid. Top with freshly steamed milk (or substitute) and sweeten to taste. Cool for 30-60 minutes and pour over ice.

Slow brewed Iced Matcha: Place 3 level teaspoons of Matcha into a glass pitcher. Fill pitcher with ice and let sit. After a few hours, ice will have melted and tea brewed. Stir vigorously to ensure the Matcha goes into suspension. Pour over ice and enjoy.

Matcha Ginger Tea with crushed ice and lime: (Ingredients: 2 level teaspoons of Matcha, 2 tablespoons of chopped ginger, ½ cup ice, juice of ½ lime, dash of honey)

• Blend ice, Matcha and ginger in a blender until ice is crushed
• Pour into a chilled glass
• Add lime juice and honey to taste

Available in 3 sizes (Please select from the options above):

• First time trying this English Tea Store's Matcha Loose Leaf Tea? Try our Sample Size of 1 ounce.

• Contents loose leaf tea net weight 2 ounces

Caffeine content: Medium - This tea contains natural caffeine found in the L. Camellia Sinensis family. A cup of green tea steeped in boiled water for 5 minutes will contain between 22 to 29 milligrams of caffeine. An equal sized cup of coffee will contain between 80 - 100 milligrams of caffeine. Caffeine quickly becomes soluble in very hot water. If you wish to reduce the caffeine level in this tea, briefly rinsing the tea leaves in extremely hot water will reduce the caffeine content between 25-50% with only a minor effect on taste.

Antioxidant Content: Very High - When consuming matcha you actually consume all the tea leaves. Scientific testing in Japan has indicated that on account of this fact the antioxidant benefit of matcha can be up to 5-9 greater then with normal green tea consumed in the conventional manner.