Matcha is one of many of my all time favorite flavors. Ever since I was a child in Japan, my favorite ice cream flavor was Matcha. Matcha holds a special place in my heart but I try not to take a lot of caffeine regularly, so making Matcha flavored sweets are only an occasional treat for me. When I drink caffeine, I am like the energizer bunny afterwards. This is perfect, if I need an edge to get a lot of things done, like say a raw vegan food blog entry after a very long and tiring week of full time work! This raw vegan Matcha green tea chia pudding makes a perfect breakfast or snack and it gives you tons of energy from both the caffeine and the chia. Plus the matcha also has a whopping 137 times more anti-oxidants than regular green tea. Impressive!
Matcha is not the same as regular green tea. If you ever had Matcha tea made the traditional Japanese tea ceremony way, you would know that Matcha and regular green tea does not taste the same. Matcha is intense in flavor, and is a perfect balance of bitterness and sweet. You might think, “But isn’t Matcha just powdered regular green tea?” and the answer is no. The tea leaves exclusively used to make Matcha are grown differently than the regular tea leaves. They are shaded, so that the leaves remain sweet and tender, then are picked and milled using a mill stone. It’s a much more labor intensive process and the price of Matcha reflects it. On the other hand, regular green tea leaves are grown in the full sunlight without any shade. Then it is picked, steamed, massaged, and dried. Two very different process, different outcome and flavor.
Matcha in general is not cheap. High quality Matcha can get quite expensive. Just to give you an idea, this organic Matcha from Uji, known for being one of the best quality Matcha regions, cost about $17 for this small can, which only contains 20g. If you find matcha that is inexpensive, I’d be weary of the quality.
So let’s get started! First, we need to make my almost instant coconut milk, by simply blending shredded coconut flakes and water and then straining it. I personally think Matcha pairs well with coconut milk, but you can always use whatever nut milk you have on hand too.
Once the coconut milk is strained, put it back in the blender and add the Matcha powder, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. Blend away to make this beautiful jade colored matcha milk.
Stop the blender and add in the chia seeds and blend more on the lowest speed for a few minutes until the mixture starts to thicken. You could also mix the two in a bowl with a whisk, by whisking until it slightly thickens.
Transfer into a glass or a bowl and let it set in the refrigerator for a few hours to gel. Once the chia pudding has gelled, it’s ready to serve. You can top it with some vanilla cashew cream if you like. Vanilla and Matcha is a golden combination in Japan, and used commonly in all sorts of Matcha flavored sweets. My husband is not a huge fan of green tea or Matcha, so he likes it better with the vanilla cashew cream. (This is Mariko’s husband Mike, I actually like green tea but for ten years Mariko has been convinced I don’t for some strange reason and refuses to believe otherwise! – End)
Me, I prefer it straight and I’m a happy camper.
How pretty! It’s a taste of home for me.
- 1 cup **almost instant raw vegan coconut milk
- 1½ teaspoons Matcha
- 2 Tablespoons + ½ to 1 teaspoon maple syrup depending on how you sweet you like
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 Tablespoons chia seeds
- ½ cup coconut
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup cashews
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons agave nectar or maple syrup
- ¼ cup water
- Prepare the Almost Instant Coconut Milk recipe, by blending the shredded coconut flakes and water and then straining it.
- Put the coconut milk back in the blender and add the Matcha, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. Blend until uniform in color.
- Add the chia seeds and blend on the lowest speed for a few minutes until the mixture starts to thicken. You can also mix it the Matcha milk and chia seeds in a bowl using a whisk instead.
- Transfer into a glass or a bowl and let it set in the refrigerator for a few hours to gel.
- Top it with vanilla cashew cream.
- Soak the cashews for 2-4 hours. Drain and rinse well.
- Add all ingredients into the blender and blend until smooth.
[…] is not the same as regular green tea. I’ll excerpt what I explained about it on my previous raw vegan Matcha green tea chia pudding recipe here. If you ever had Matcha tea made the traditional Japanese tea ceremony way, you would know that […]