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Thursday, August 27, 2009

Health Benefits of Matcha

The health benefits of matcha tea exceed those of green tea because when you drink matcha you ingest the whole leaf, not just the brewed water.
One glass of matcha is the equivalent of 10 glasses of green tea in terms of its nutritional value and antioxidant content.

Matcha Tea – A Nutritious Beverage
  • Rich in Antioxidants and Chlorophyll

  • Contains Catechins Only Found in Green Tea

  • Naturally Mood Enhancing

  • Zero on the Glycemic Index - will not raise insulin levels

  • Sugar-free, High in Fiber
Matcha Tea – For Antioxidants
Exponentially Higher in Antioxidants than Blueberries and Spinach

Green teas contain a high amount of antioxidants, chemically compounds known to forestall aging. Antioxidants are found in many fruits and vegetables – even chocolate. A testing method known as ORAC – short for oxygen radical absorbance capacity, evaluates the antioxidant levels found in food. According to research done by Tufts University, the ORAC capacity of matcha green tea is exponentially higher than other foods known for their high antioxidants levels such as blueberries and spinach.
The ORAC rating of matcha is 1300 units/g, compared to 105 units/g for pomegranates and 91 units/g for wild blueberries.

Matcha Tea - For Renown Cancer Fighting Catechin EGCg Renown Cancer Fighting Catechins are Only Found In Green Tea

Not all antioxidants are created equal. Antioxidants are found in many foods including fruits and vegetables. There are many types of antioxidants, however, the class known as catechins are only found in green tea, and these maybe the most potent of all. And of the catechins, EGCg (epicgallocatechin gallate) is the catechin with broadest and most potent cancer-fighting properties. Sixty percent of the catechin content of matcha tea is EGCg. One gram of matcha contains 105 mg of total catechin content, or roughly 61% EGCg.


Matcha Tea – For Cleansing the Body of Toxins

Rich in Chlorophyll, A Renowned Detoxifying Agent

Chlorophyll, the pigment which gives leaves their green color, helps to remove heavy metals and chemical toxins from the body. Because matcha powdered tea is fully ingested when consumed, unlike tea leaves which are infused then discarded, and because matcha is shade grown, a process which increases the chlorophyll content in the leaves, matcha tea is a chlorophyll rich food.

Matcha Tea – For The Amino Acids

Naturally Mood Enhancing Matcha contains L-theanine, an amino acid known to relax the mind. For this reason, matcha is also known as a mood enhancer. Buddhist monks drank matcha to assist in meditation, as matcha’s amino acids, combined with caffeine, offer a sustained calm alertness over time. Amino acids are also what gives matcha its distinctive taste. They contribute to what is known as the fifth taste, or umami, characterized by a rich creamy mouth feel. Kama matcha, the ceremony grade tea, made from the youngest, tenderest leaves, contains the highest levels of amino acids. The delicate flavor profiles of Kama Matcha and Morning Matcha are best observed when prepared in the traditional style, with a bamboo whisk and whisked in a matcha bowl.


Matcha Tea – Suited for Meditative Practice

Create Your Own Ceremony and Relieve Stress

The Japanese Tea Ceremony known as Chanoyu is a highly ritualized practice of drinking matcha tea. The Zen monks were the first to introduce matcha to Japan, and their influence is seen throughout the ceremony. Most notably is the emphasis on a calm mind, serene settings and awareness of nature. Drinking tea alone will not convert you into a Zen monk, but adding a tea ritual to your day, however you choose to create it, will increase the possibilities for calm and serene experiences in your life. For inspiration we recommend the Tea Ceremony by Sen’o Tanaka with detailed descriptions of Chanoyu rituals, artifacts and philosophy.

(Source: http://www.matchasource.com/)

So, how about that? There's no better time than now to have an Anti-Oxi Cupcake or for a double dose of matcha, have Matcha Matcha Cupcakes!

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Why cupcakes trump wedding cakes pt. 1


Find conventional wedding cake to be ho hum and predictable? A “cake” created with tiers of artfully adorned cupcakes will surely have guests oohing and aahing. These petite treats have risen to star status by cupcake loving celebrities like Sarah Jessica Parker, Oprah and Martha Stewart, and cupcakeries are popping up across the country. Cupcakes are festive and fun, decorating options are endless and they’re a great way for a couple to show off their style and originality. A wedding cupcake tower can be topped with a small cake for the happy couple to cut, or – even more romantic -- they can feed each other a shared cupcake. More reasons to love those little cuties:

Edible aspect:

Wedding cake can look better than it tastes and much tends to go to waste. “After dining, drinking and dancing, many guests forego dessert,” says Stoyer. “But charming cupcakes are less intimidating so guests – even those watching their waistlines -- can’t resist eating them, or taking them home.”

Color coding:
It’s not a hassle to serve several cupcake varieties -- color coded by liners and toppings -- so there’s a flavor to please everyone in your wedding crowd. “Adorn simple toppings like chocolate glaze, fondant icing or butter cream with elegant accents like monogrammed candied hearts, candy seashells, fancy chocolates or large silver nonpareils,” suggests Stoyer. Another dress up touch is to garnish the tiers of a cupcake stand with leaves and edible fresh or candied flowers that mimic the floral theme of the wedding.

Fuss free:
From a baker’s viewpoint, whipping up wedding-worthy cupcakes is labor intensive, but they are much easier to transport and assemble on site than huge layers of cake. Servers and guests benefit because they needn’t fuss with knives or forks or cake slicing time; people can even pluck their own portion from a cupcake tower.

Budget biter:
Wedding cupcakes, which are about 50% larger than usual, can start as low as $3, then fillings, special toppings and ornate designs can add a few dollars to the price. Nonetheless, cupcakes generally don’t require as much time and TLC as a multi tiered cake -- which can run you $6-$12 per slice – so they end up costing considerably less.

(Article by By Wendy Korn Heppt of WeTV.com)