Matcha and Mint Iced Tea Recipe

Matcha is one of the few teas made from powdered leaves. As noted in this matcha blog post, matcha is made from Tencha green tea leaves. The tea plants are shaded by tarps for a few weeks before the harvest. This boosts the chlorophyll, amino acids and other flavor compounds in the tea leaves. One amino acid called L-Theanine provides a relaxing effect when you drink matcha and other green teas.

Matcha has a clean vegetal flavor and sometimes people describe it as an acquired taste. If you haven't tried matcha before, you may want to try it in a recipe such as a matcha latte, matcha smoothie or the iced tea recipe below, before you drink it straight.

Matcha and Mint Iced Tea

• 1 tsp organic daily matcha or organic ceremonial matcha
• 2 cups water
• Juice of 1 lime plus additional slices for garnish
• 1 bunch fresh mint (some used for simple syrup)

For the simple syrup:

• 1 cup cane sugar
• 1 cup water

For the simple syrup: heat sugar and water in a small saucepan, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Turn off the heat and add several sprigs of mint. Let the mint steep in the syrup until it cools to room temp, stirring and muddling the leaves occasionally. Strain out the mint and chill until ready to use.

For the iced tea: using a large mason jar or a cocktail shaker, shake 2 cups of water and matcha together until there are no lumps.

Add lime juice, a few sprigs of mint and simple syrup to taste and shake it some more. Pour into glasses over ice with extra lime slices and mint. Enjoy! 

Thank you to Sugimoto America for the recipe and picture.