Kiss Me, I'm Green!

My first taste of matcha powder came as most Americans' probably did — in a Starbucks Green Tea Soy Latte. God, those things are good. Of course, they squirt lots of flavored syrup in them, and they're loaded with calories. But a Starbucks tea latte is a nice treat every once in awhile.

When I decided I wanted to start making matcha at home a few years ago (to save on those calories), I couldn't find matcha powder anywhere in Memphis! Not even at Whole Foods (our WF may carry it now but not back then). I finally stumbled on a bag at an Asian market way, way out in the 'burbs. It was a big bag, but that was okay. I needed it to make Isa and Terry's Green Tea Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. Anyway, the remnants of that bag have been lurking in my pantry ever since. I'd say for at least four years.

And then Kiss Me Organics offered to send me a free bag of their Matcha Powder to review here. I was blown away by how fresh this powder is! Maybe I just haven't had matcha that hasn't been lurking in a pantry in awhile, but damn. The first thing I did was google "matcha smoothies" and this recipe from Gena's Choosing Raw blog popped up. This is a Vanilla Avocado Matcha Smoothie.

It's (mostly) fruit-free, which is nice sometimes when you're tired of banana in every smoothie. It just had avocado, matcha, and vanilla protein powder. I added some dates and agave because it wasn't sweet enough for me. The avocado made the smoothie thick and creamy, and the lack of lots of sweetener meant I could really taste the matcha.

Of course, I had to try a homemade Green Tea Latte.

I may or may not have covered this in rice whip after this shot was taken. But still yet, it's far less caloric than Starbucks with only 60 calories per cup! And it simply contains matcha powder, almond milk, water, and bee-free honee. I used a simple formula from the Kiss Me Organics recipe book, a PDF file that they send every customer.

By the way, that book is filled with all sorts of crazy ways to use matcha – everything from cocktails to French toast to pizza dough to tiramisu. I wish I'd had time to make something more exciting, but for some reason, I just wanted to drink my matcha. I also tried a smoothie recipe from the Kiss Me Organics ebook — Berry Good Morning Smoothie.

This had orange juice, strawberries, blueberries, banana, and matcha. And then I added a scoop of Vega One berry protein powder to make it a complete meal. This was my breakfast this morning, and it was so good. I love the combo of berries and OJ. And the matcha gave it a special wake-me-up kick.

Kiss Me Organics is offering a 15 percent discount on purchases of their matcha powder on Amazon through September 30th. Enter the code "3HTOZAIU" on either the American or Canadian Amazon site to save! And they'll also send you that awesome recipe guide.

Holiday High Tea

Admittedly, I have no idea what "high tea" means, but I know it's super-fancy. And when I drink tea, I feel pretty darn sophisticated. I'm not typically a tea drinker. I'm a coffee girl, and I'll have my double-tall cup of dark roast, fair trade java with soy creamer and agave every morning, thank you very much. But each winter, I try to make myself like tea. And every year, I learn more and more about what sorts of tea I like.

Here's what I've learned so far: I like my teas like I like my coffee — strong and full of caffeine. So black teas rule my world, particularly chai tea with soy milk and agave. If I must go with a green tea, I prefer it to be made with matcha powder. And I hate most herbal teas, unless they have a hint of vanilla (like Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Vanilla) or licorice (like Aveda Comfort Tea).

Kungaloosh, a gourmet global tea company, generously sent me two samples of their loose-leaf holiday teas. Thankfully, both fell into my tea "likes". My fave was this Cozy Christmas Tea:

It's a black tea (yea!) with orange peel, cloves, and cinnamon. Sort of like a citrusy chai. I drank it at work with no access to soy milk, but it would have been slightly improved with a splash. Nothing wrong with the tea. That's just how I like my chai. Anyway, this tea smelled and tasted like Christmas in a cup.

They also sent along some Jack Frost Tea:

This is a naturally-flavored vanilla and peppermint ceylon tea. As a fan of vanilla, I fell in love with this one. I also loved the ceylon tea base. It seems like most minty teas fall into the herbal category, and I'm just not down with that. Although ceylon does contain caffeine, I think Jack Frost would be best enjoyed at night in front of a toasty fireplace. A little caffeine at night doesn't affect my sleep at all.

What are your favorite teas?