So I Tried to Give Up Coffee for Matcha

I don’t know what I was thinking. I blame gorgeous Candice Kumai and her post about how her skin is glowing. Her first item on that list was giving up coffee and having matcha instead. So then I started the research. I have the tendency to get really obsessed about stuff, so I went down a rabbit hole of research. All the things I read touts all the great things that matcha can do for you. So I was like OH YES. LETS GIVE UP COFFEE. BRING ON THE MATCHA. I love green tea…same thing right? Yes, and no.

Quick Notes:
Green Tea vs Matcha, what IS the difference?

Both Matcha and green tea come from the same plant
Matcha is the dried leaves ground into a fine powder
Green tea is usually the dry leaves in a tea bag that you usually consume by steeping in water

There are more than one grade of matcha, 3 of them are:

Culinary, this is the quality you cook and bake with. Probably shouldn’t drink this.
Cafe grade, you’d use this in lattes and smoothies
Ceremonial grade, which is super high quality and you drink this straight up.

So the first week was rough. My facebook captains log is as follows:

Day one of no coffee:

Yesterday when i had my matcha latte (after already having coffee earlier that day) it tasted SO good. I can do this!

Today, I made the exact same latte. And it tastes like fucking dirt water with a hint of freshly cut grass where someone cleaned off their boot after stepping in dog shit, and i want to die.
I’m just going to go ahead and trash it, and just make regular matcha tea.

Day three without coffee, captain’s log:

The end of day one was rough, I was falling asleep driving. I think I went to bed early. I don’t remember.

Day Two (Yesterday) was a little better, the matcha latte was palatable, but nothing to get excited about. I ended up picking the tot up early for a doc appt and took a 2-hour nap afterward. Guys, I miss coffee. I didn’t realize my dependency on it until I told myself I couldn’t have it anymore. Or it is all mental.

This morning I made my matcha latte. This time I added honey. and SHOOK IT UP IN A MASON JAR. and it tastes so much better. That’s what I forgot. Honey. (this is was the latte grade matcha, the ceremonial matcha I can drink straight up no problem). OR does it taste better in a mason jar? Either way, I was dozing on my way to work (i don’t drink it til I get to the office, same with coffee).

After that I didn’t update, because I didn’t want to whine on facebook. But it was rough. I don’t know if it was the combination of my to-do list at work, or my dead mother’s birthday but I was a mess for the rest of the week. I felt so powerless. I started to come to the conclusion that my super powers came from coffee.

Then I finally hit my latte groove. I finally “perfected” my matcha latte. Does it give me the energy that i was dependent on when I was on coffee? I will test it out for week two of my coffee detox.

A lot of people asked my why I was doing this. My husband being one of them. I don’t know why. I read a lot of articles that say matcha is so great for you, its been called the antioxidant powerhouse, which you know, keeps your immune system in tip top shape. There are also catechins which help fight free radicals. Because you know those EM EFFERS lead to cancer. Read more about it here.

Anyone else used to drink coffee, but switched to matcha? What’s your life like now? Because I seriously might go back to coffee. My husband drinks his freshly ground, french pressed, and black. Which is also good for you too!

More about Miemo

Miemo is a bujo junkie and a food enthusiast. She is a full-time working mama, living in the DC Metro area with her doting husband, silly baby, and lovey lapdog pitbull.

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