Matcha Tea Poppy Seed Muffins + DōMatcha Green Tea Product Review

While they may not win any beauty contests, these babies are heaven on a plate, ecstasy on your tongue and pretty much the best darn thing I’ve baked in a long time. Plus, they’re gluten-free and oil-free! I imagine that using more processed flours and sugars would result in a prettier muffin, with a brighter green hue. But I’d much prefer whole food to pretty food, how about you?

Let’s talk about “crumb” for a moment, shall we? Crumb is a term that bakers use to define the quality of the inside of bread or other baked goods. Most of the time, people want and like a fine crumb. When baking with whole food ingredients, it’s nearly impossible to achieve. If you’ve been around my blog for any length of time I’m sure you’ve noticed that I do quite a bit of baking. And many of my past recipe creations were quite yummy. BUT, I think I’ve finally found the magic formula for a beautiful “crumb”… this muffin is light and moist with such a tender crumb that I’m tempted to call it a cupcake. Birthday cakes may soon be on the horizon!

I also wanted to tell you about Matcha tea. What is Matcha? It is a finely ground, bright emerald-green tea powder that has been the heart of the famous Japanese tea ceremony for over 900 years. The Buddhist monks honored matcha tea as a health elixir for its potential to heighten concentration and enhance metabolism, and it is known to produce a calm, mental alertness.

Matcha tea has so many health benefits! It contains a unique, potent class of antioxidants known as catechins found in green tea, which aren’t found in other foods. In particular, the catechin EGCg (epigallocatechin gallate) provides potent cancer-fighting properties. EGCg and other catechins counteract the effects of free radicals from pollution, UV rays, radiation, and chemicals, which can lead to cell and DNA damage.

What about other green teas? Aren’t they just as health-promoting? To test the hypothesis that Matcha is more catechin-dense than other green teas, researchers from the University of Colorado Springs conducted a comparison study between Matcha and other common green teas. The results were groundbreaking as the authors discovered that the concentration of EGCg available from drinking Matcha is 137 times greater than the amount of EGCg available from a common green tea. That means you’d have to drink 137 cups of regular green to to get the same antioxidant protection found in Matcha.

There are a gazillion different brands and types of Matcha teas out there. Going onto Amazon to shop was an overwhelming experience. Thankfully, Kathy Patalsky over at Happy Healthy Life wrote a post comparing the various brands of Matcha and it is truly invaluable in deciphering them all. She must have spent WEEKS on that post. Thanks so much, Kathy! Based on her in-depth reviews, I initially decided on Ceremonial DōMatcha to experience the green wonder known as Matcha tea. Ceremonial Matcha is made from the first harvest of the tea. It is delicious. However, it is also quite pricey, especially for a beverage I want to enjoy on a daily basis. So I read some other reviews and got some Second Harvest DōMatcha and it’s just as fabulous. And they both have the same amount of catechins. Both are slightly sweet and very smooth… so different from any other tea I’ve had without that tannic bitterness. I’m hooked!

my morning cup of emerald goodness!

I’ve been having a cup of DōMatcha in the morning for the past week and I have noticed improved energy and stamina. I’m sleeping better and I have a calm, focused sense of well being all day long. Yeah. This stuff rocks. Well, without further chatter or ado, here is the recipe for these wonderfully light Matcha tea muffins…

Ingredients:

~ dry

1 cup blanched almond flour
½ cup sorghum flour
½ cup tapioca flour
½ cup poppy seeds
½ cup minimally-processed granulated sweetener (I used coconut sugar)
2 tsp Matcha green tea powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

~ wet

1 TBS ground flax + 3 TBS water
1 cup unsweetened plant-based milk
1 tsp lemon juice
¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
1½ tsp vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° F.
Prepare a 12-count muffin tin with paper liners or lightly grease.
Combine the flax with the water and set aside.
Combine the milk with the lemon juice and vanilla and set aside.
Mix all dry ingredients together.
Add the flax mixture, milk mixture and applesauce to the dry ingredients. Mix well and fill the muffin cups with ¼ cup of the batter per muffin.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the center muffin comes out clean.
Store in an air-tight container in the fridge.