Matcha Coconut Milk Popsicles
Hello Matcha! How much do you know about the goodness of Matcha? We’re huge fans of this extremely special tea, and we figured it was about time we introduce you!
Matcha’s vibrant green colour, rich antioxidants and delicious flavour have made it a hot foodie trend in recent years. Unlike any other green tea, its powdered form makes it highly unique for consumption and yields a very different sipping experience. To break down the process: high quality, shade grown Japanese tea leaves are stone ground into a fine powder and thus the leaves themselves are consumed rather than just steeped, amplifying the amazing green tea health benefits we all know and love.
The process of creating matcha is detailed and quite time consuming. A vital first step in the preparation of matcha happens during the process of growing. Covering the plants with shade cloths for 20 days before harvest creates better flavour and texture in the tea due to the slowed rate of photosynthesis, resulting in high levels of theanine. Japanese shade grown green teas produce a deep rich green colour full of sweet vegetal flavours thanks to their steaming process - the purpose of the steaming is to prevent the leaves from oxidizing during processing. This careful steaming allows almost all of the leaves' natural green color, fragrance and nutritional components to be retained. From start to finish, the leaves are hand plucked, stemmed, steamed and aged in cold storage before finally being carefully stone ground down into a fine powder ready for consumption. This labour-intensive process accounts for the rarity and high price tag of Matcha.
This tea’s sweet grassy notes and vibrant green hue is not only notable its health benefits, but have an unmistakable allure that has caught the attention of tea lovers, chefs and bakers alike! The powdered nature of this amazing tea makes it perfect for adding to all kinds of recipes, like our decadent Matcha Coconut Milk Popsicle creation. Scroll down for the full recipe!
RECIPE
4 tablespoons high quality Matcha green tea powder
5-6 tablespoons just below boiling water
6 tablespoons cane sugar
1 can full fat coconut milk
½ cup white chocolate chips or wafers
2 teaspoons coconut oil
Popsicle sticks and mold
INSTRUCTIONS
Add the 4 tablespoons of Matcha powder to a small dish and mix in the cane sugar. Add the water (just below boiling) and using a Matcha Whisk, whisk vigorously until all powder bits are dissolved and the mixture resembles a thin paste. If you don’t have a matcha whisk a small regular whisk or fork will work too.
Using a spatula pour all the Matcha into a blender and add a full can of Coconut Milk, blend for 1-2 mins on low, this should yield about 20 oz of liquid. In a popsicle mold, evenly distribute the Matcha Coconut Milk and place in the freezer. Set a timer for 2 hours and carefully place each popsicle stick in the centre of the mold. Continue freezing overnight.
In the morning when your popsicles have fully frozen, start the white chocolate drizzle. Using a double boiler, carefully melt ½ cup white chocolate chips or wafers with 2 teaspoons of coconut oil. When the chocolate is completely smooth and free of lumps you’re ready to drizzle! We lined up our popsicles on a pre-frozen marble slab and with a teaspoon carefully drizzled the white chocolate over all popsicles at once. Place back in the freezer for a few minutes and serve!
