Although we can all have too much of a good thing, matcha is definitely the new wonder child in my kitchen. It’s a form of Japanese green tea made from shade-grown green tea buds, stone-ground to a fine powder, and traditionally whisked into hot water. You can find it in specialist tea and health food shops, and it’s having a bit of a moment in the superfood world right about now.

The friendly folks at The Teamakers were kind enough to send me some of their finest ceremonial grade Japanese matcha for me to try – it tastes truly fantastic, transporting me straight back to the Hama Rikyu gardens nestled among the mirrored skyscrapers of Tokyo city and to my jet-lagged first sip of matcha there, basking in the late-afternoon sun on the terrace of the elegant teahouse overlooking the pond, and marvelling at the blissful serenity of that moment and the colour of the tea. I couldn’t believe how GREEN it was. I’ve seen varying shades since, from dull and algae-coloured to fresh and grassy – always go for bright matcha – and the colour of today’s stuff is a sign of its superior quality.

Not only does matcha have an impressive list of near-magical properties – it has an extraordinary concentration of anti-ageing and disease-fighting antioxidants, lowers cholesterol and boosts the metabolism – it is versatile too. I’ve been sprinkling it over my breakfast, drinking it hot as tea and cool in smoothies, and baking is on tomorrow’s to-do list too!

This smoothie combines matcha with pineapple, in all its inflammation-busting glory, iron-rich spinach and hydrating coconut water, packed with electrolytes. It’s truly a miracle in a glass and will make you glow from the inside out. Let me know what you think!

Matcha & pinapple smoothie

Ingredients:

Makes 2 glasses

• 1 cup pineapple (about 1/4 pineapple, peeled and cored)
• 1 cup baby spinach leaves (a handful)
• 1/2 teaspoon matcha green tea powder
• 1 cup coconut water
• honey, to sweeten (optional)

Method:

Blitz the pineapple and spinach leaves in a blender until smooth. Add the matcha and coconut water and pulse to combine. Taste and stir in some honey to sweeten, as desired. Tip: If you’re new to vegetable juices or simply using a less sweet brand of coconut water (I use Go Coco which is naturally quite sweet), it may taste on the bitter side without any honey. See how you go!

Source: Recipe and photos by pip & little blue.