This latte is cutest when served on Star Wars Day, but it is delicious any day of the year! May the 4th be with you!

What is Matcha?

Matcha comes from the same plant as green tea, but is made from the entire leaf. Since it uses more of the plant, it packs more of an anti-oxidant punch. There's no doubt that matcha powder is having a moment, but many people have questions about this seemingly magical ingredient. Is matcha good for you? How much matcha should you have? Will matcha give you energy? Is matcha sweet?

Is Matcha Good For You?

According to Healthline, there are many benefits of matcha ranging from heart health to weight loss. Green tea is thought to be one of the healthies beverages on the planet, so why not get creative and make it portable? That's what Annie Siegfried, RDN did when she created this quick and easy recipe.

How Much Matcha Should You Have? Will Matcha Give You Energy?

Since matcha uses the whole green tea leaf, it also can contain more caffeine than a typical cup of green tea. Some folks use matcha to replace coffee, so for those wondering if matcha will give you energy - the answer is yes!

If you make a cup of matcha tea with 1 teaspoon of matcha, you're looking at around 70 mg of caffeine. One tablespoon of matcha contains around 210mg of caffeine. For reference, a typical cup of green tea contains 35 mg of caffeine and the average cup of coffee contains 95 mg of caffeine. If you're making tea with the powder at home, you can control the amount of powder you add and therefore have control over the caffeine as well. This recipe uses 2 tablespoons of matcha and yields about 8 servings, so each serving has around 50mg of caffeine. Enough to give you a boost with about half the caffeine of a cup of coffee.

Is Matcha Sweet?

On its own, matcha is not sweet. Many powdered matcha beverage mixes contain high amounts of sugar which can be very deceptive if you are trying to follow a lower-sugar or no sugar diet. If you find matcha by itself to be bitter, we recommend sweetening your matcha recipes with stevia or monk fruit. This recipe uses our Vanilla stevia syrup to add the perfect amount of sweetness without sugar. Matcha is a great addition to a sugar-free diet, low-carbohydrate diet, keto diet, paleo diet, plant-based diet, or any healthy diet that incorporates plenty of fruits and veggies and less processed foods and sugar.