This blog is a catch up of the first week of 2015 and the first week of my Matcha Challenge.
I put myself forward when Teapigs asked for bloggers to review their product. I was thrilled they took me up on the offer. A short while before Christmas my goodies arrived. They sent me their modern matcha kit. Is it a little bit sad to like their packaging? I love the cardboard box the kit was sent in - it says tea in transit all over it! How fab is that?!
Any hoo I digress. The kit consists of a 30g pot of Matcha, a cute shot glass, an Aerolatte whisk, a 2 week check sheet, a measuring spoon and a teeny tiny button badge. Everything you need to get started. I have a warning here - that whisk has some oomph about it! Take care when making shots. I put my measure of matcha in the glass and then filled it just under halfway with cold water. When I turned on the whisk I nearly lost most of my liquid! The Aerolatte generates such a vortex, my tea nearly escaped! Just a little hint folks - put a small volume of liquid in the glass to susepnd your tea and then top up with more water.
So, how have I got on?
Day 1 was New a year's Day. Poor Matcha. It didn't have much of a hope of making me feel perky that day! I should tell you now that New Year's Day was also day 1 of my Dryathlon (my poor liver!). I drank my Matcha as a hot tea. I wasn't enamoured. Not at all. Matcha is the WHOLE green tea leaf in powder form. Not just a freeze dried tea like an instant tea or coffee is, it's the whole leaf. Consequently I find the tea has a distinct vegetable smell and taste. One of my friends nailed it when they said it smells like henna! Ping!! The light went on! That's it! It smells and tastes like henna.
That's a big bleugh for me!
Day 2 I tried the shot. Holy smokes it was vile! Thick henna liquid is not what I need in the morning. Coupled with waking with a horrendous head that if i didn't know better I'd have called a hangover, I was feeling rather sorry for myself and not enjoying my Matcha experience AT ALL!
Day3 - a new low for Matcha. I made a latte. I should have known better, I hate warm milk and I'd never go for a latte in a coffee bar, but in the interests of research I tried it. The smell of warm milky henna was very nearly too much. I'm a good girl though, and I drank it all up. Day 3 was vile. I had a full on migraine all day. I seriously thought about jacking the whole thing in. But my "new me in 2015" drive was still on and I had bought a juicer. Folks on line had said matcha was good in juice, so I was thinking positive thoughts.
Day 4 - Ta da!!!!! I found my Matcha Mojo. Matcha in Orange juice was a triumph!! I think how I had been feeling had been my body going through a detox of sorts. The headaches, hungover feeling, lethargy, and the upset in my innards (sorry folks, but it happened!) were all due to me flushing my system out. Sunday dawned and I felt better. Bordering on feeling good! I pottered about the house doing my chores and realised about 2pm that I hadn't had lunch for that matter, my breakfast had only consisted of my matcha/juice and a cup of tea. Hum, I thought.
Day 5 - juicing is king!!! Carrot, orange and matcha!! A matcha made in heaven. ;-) I loved it.
Day 6 - Two apples and oranges. Delish!!
Day 7 - One week in and a review. I don't think I feel that I have more energy. I'm a fat girl, so my energy levels aren't great at the best of times. The one thing I do like about matcha is the slow energy release. Normally, regardless of whether I eat breakfast, by 10am I'm starving. Even if I have a full breakfast I could eat again by mid-morning.
Now, I'm ready for my lunch at lunchtime. I'm back at work now, so I'm having a bit of protein for breakfast -yesterday a boiled egg, today a slice of ham (the girls at work complained bitterly about the egg! How rude?!)
I'm feeling positive about the next week, matcha and I are getting along fine these days. I'm playing with juicing. I've borrowed a couple of books with juice recipes in - watch this space for more information.
I'm exercising more. I'm swimming hard, walking whenever I can, and I'm using the cross trainer. Who knew it was more than a clothes horse!
I'll drop another blog post at the end of this week with a 2 week round up.
Will I buy more when my tin stats to look empty?
Yes. I think I will. I'm enjoying the mix of matcha and juice. I'm enjoying the slow release energy it seems to give. I think I'll try a dose at lunchtime for a couple of days and see how I go.
I do have concerns about the caffeine content - 70mg per 2g measure- that's almost double my usual cup of tea, but we'll see how much it affects my sleep.
To those of you out there who said they'd give it a whirl with me - tell me in the comments box how you're getting on with your matcha challenge.
Thank you for the blog , really appreciate the input :)
ReplyDelete