| I first tried matcha two years ago. My husband got super interested in the ritual of matcha, along with the health benefits. I tried it. It tasted like grass. Like literal grass. I turned up my nose and stuck to coffee. Wonderful coffee. Or is it so wonderful….? More on that below. Eventually I gave matcha a try in different forms. I found I loved it in smoothies. A perfect afternoon snack and pick me up. I also found I love matcha lattes. Hot or cold. (Below you will find my current recipe for my morning matcha latte.) I’ve recently given up my morning routine of coffee and have replaced it with a hot morning matcha latte. The main reason for this change is that coffee was not helping me. Instead I was having horrible caffeine crashes and just feeling completely irritable. I felt more tired than I really should have even with not ideal sleep from having a little one. My energy levels were LOW. This has happened before. Finally I admitted the problem. The caffeine in my coffee. Caffeine is a stimulant. It triggers the fight or flight response in your body – basically it triggers your body to make more cortisol. A stress hormone. For someone who is getting a solid 8-9 hours of sleep a night and has zero health issues this is likely not going to be an issue. But for someone like me, who averages 6-6.5 hours of broken sleep a night (baby is not sleeping well), it may not be ideal. The reason behind this is that any amount of sleep deprivation is going to cause your body to enter a state of stress. Stress = excess cortisol. So add in coffee and you have really knocked your body out of whack! Brain fog, fatigue, trouble remembering things and feeling irritable are all signs that coffee is not your friend. At least, for this season it’s not. You may find by addressing sleep issues or even adrenal fatigue issues that caffeine is no longer your foe. (Adrenal fatigue is a huge topic in and of itself. If you are struggling with exhaustion, headaches, sugar cravings, difficulty waking up, etc. then I encourage you to check out this post by Caroline Potter from Flourish Living. She is an expert on this topic!) So why is matcha different? Coffee and matcha both contain caffeine. One huge difference that sets matcha apart is it contains L-theanine, an amino acid which is found in the tea leaves. This amino acid promotes relaxation but without drowsiness. It also has been shown to improve your mood. Matcha also contains cancer and disease fighting properties. This is definitely a win! A lot of sources say matcha provides an “alert calm.” I 100% agree. You won’t get a buzz. It’s not going to jolt you into action like coffee. But it also is not going to send you spiraling into exhaustion after a couple hours. There’s A LOT more to it than my simple synopsis but hopefully you’ll take a moment to read more (check out the sources below.) If you’re struggling to make it through the day, maybe you need a break from coffee. Switching to matcha is amazing because you don’t have to deal with caffeine headaches. It’s really seamless (exception would be if you’re drinking A LOT of coffee all day – you’ll definitely want to slowly go about your switch.) My favorite brand of matcha in Encha. It’s important to buy quality, organic matcha as it can not only contain lead, but traces of radiation as well. Encha has a ton of educational research on their site. Personally I like to purchase my Encha matcha through Amazon subscribe and save. Encha has their own subscribe and save as well. Both around the same price. Would love to hear about your own experience with Matcha if you have tried it! My Morning Matcha Latte: 8 ounces hot water (around 190-200 degrees) 2-3 ounces full fat coconut milk 1 tsp Encha latte grade Matcha 2 scoops collagen 2-3 tsp raw honey (local to you is best for health benefits) Optional: 1/2 tsp vanilla extract Add to blender, slowly blend to medium-high. Serve. Sources: https://encha.com/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28056735 https://draxe.com/nutrition/matcha-green-tea/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18296328 https://u.osu.edu/emotionalfitness/2017/04/19/study-caffeine-stress-and-brain-function/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9415946 |
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