Green Tea for Health

Heres a really great treat that is so easy to make and healthy too!

Ingredients which serves one

• 1 tablespoon Matcha (or 1 tablespoon Sencha, powdered in a mill)
• 1 cup hot water
• Sugar or honey to taste
• 2 tablespoon fresh cream, whipped

How to make:

1. Heat a cup of water to 176°F (80°C).
2. Add hot tap water to cup to warm. Discard water.
3. Mix the Matcha and 2 tablespoons hot water and stir briskly with a tea whisk or small egg whisk until the paste becomes smooth.
4. Pour in the rest of hot water, stir and add sugar.

Sencha one of Japan's most popular tea
The flavours that distinguish Sencha are a delicate sweetness and a mild astringency. Sencha refers to the first picking of the tea bush, which takes place from late February in warm climates to the end of May in cooler areas. The tea leaves of later pickings, which have more astringency, constitute the tea known as Bancha. The glossy leaves of the tea bush are nearly uniform in size and impart a refreshing fragrance. Sencha is high in vitamin C and is especially popular with women as a teatime drink. A new variety of Sencha (mizudashi-sencha) specially prepared for steeping in cold water is now available on the market and enjoys brisk sales in summer. Powdered Sencha (funmatsucha) is another product on the market, although it is easily made by grinding Sencha leaves in a coffee mill or a food processor. It is excellent for adding to drinks and cooked dishes.

Matcha
Matcha is the powdered tea used in Japan's formal tea ceremony. Top grade Matcha is a bright shade of green. When the new shoots on the tea bush have two or three leaves, they are shaded from sunlight with straw, reed or cloth screens for two or three weeks. A tea to go with desserts and Japanese confections such as Green Tea Treat