{"id":9190,"date":"2019-03-25T16:49:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-25T20:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.davidstea.com\/en\/?p=9190"},"modified":"2019-04-22T13:42:06","modified_gmt":"2019-04-22T17:42:06","slug":"i-replaced-coffee-with-matcha-and-this-is-what-happened","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.davidstea.com\/en\/i-replaced-coffee-with-matcha-and-this-is-what-happened\/","title":{"rendered":"I replaced coffee with matcha and this is what happened"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time:<\/b> <\/span> 5<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>\n

We challenged a coffee-obsessed DAVIDsTEA fan to make the switch to matcha for 14 whole days. That\u2019s two weeks of our delicious stone-ground green tea and zero caff\u00e8. How do you think she did? Read her story in her own words.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To make a long\nstory short, I\u2019m happy to announce I\u2019m writing this blog post while sipping on\na matcha latte (I\u2019m still alive and kicking!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s rewind to a couple weeks ago\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was challenged\nby my favourite tea company to ditch coffee cold turkey and replace it with\nmatcha for two weeks straight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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To give you a bit\nof context, I\u2019ve been drinking coffee for 7 years with an average of 2 to 3\ncups of coffee per day. If you do a little quick math, that adds up to over\n7,000 cups of coffee (ouch). Over the years, I\u2019ve trained my palate to enjoy\nthe taste of coffee but truthfully, the primary reason for my coffee\nconsumption is its energizing effect. You know, that jumping-off-the\nwall-ready-to-take-on-the-world feeling, followed close behind by jitters, the\ninevitable crash and intense coffee withdrawal headaches. On days where I skip\nout on coffee, I always find myself to a) be grumpy (ask any of my friends) and\nb) have a massive headache by around 2PM. Needless to say, this\nchallenge came as a\u2026 challenge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I recently left\nmy full-time job to focus on going back to school to complete my master\u2019s\ndegree. I\u2019m currently studying for my GMAT exam, so my days consist of studying\neither at home, at the library or at a nearby cafe. It\u2019s important that I stay\nenergized and focused throughout the day, so cutting coffee cold turkey without\na substitute was out of the question for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve had matcha a few times before and I\u2019m familiar with the benefits<\/a><\/u>. Namely that the caffeine in matcha releases at a much slower pace than coffee, thereby limiting the consequences of a caffeine spike. Matcha green tea also contains about one third of the caffeine content of coffee, so I was worried that I\u2019d have to substantially increase my matcha intake throughout the challenge. My final concern was the amount of time it would take to prepare a matcha beverage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was kindly sent the Modern Matcha Essentials<\/a><\/u> kit, which includes a matcha bowl, a traditional bamboo matcha whisk and the Perfect Matcha Spoon<\/a><\/u>. I was also gifted the Stainless Steel Matcha Maker<\/a><\/u> and a variety of 3 matcha green teas: Matcha Matsu<\/a><\/u>, Grand Cru Matcha<\/a><\/u> and Peach Matcha<\/a><\/u>. Over the course of the challenge, I experimented with different methods and flavours, and kept track of how I felt. Here\u2019s a quick summary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Day 1 <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bye-bye coffee<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The first matcha latte<\/a><\/u> I made was delicious but somewhat tedious, to be honest. Boil water. Whisk matcha. Froth milk. Clean equipment. Like everything, getting into a new routine can feel exhausting out of the gate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I started with a Grand Cru Matcha<\/a><\/u> latte and really enjoyed the velvety taste. Since this matcha powder is in its purest form (no sweeteners added) I decided to add a teaspoon of maple syrup to sweeten it. Later in the afternoon, I made an iced matcha latte using two Perfect Matcha Spoons of Matcha Matsu<\/a><\/u> and one Perfect Matcha Spoon of Peach Matcha<\/a><\/u>. It was delicious on its own (no sweetener added), with a slight fruity peach taste. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, my\nenergy and concentration levels were high that day, but I did have a subdued\nheadache in the afternoon. I decided to increase my water intake instead of\ngoing for what would typically be my third cup of coffee of the day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Day 7<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Getting the hang\nof it<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Soon enough,\nmaking my daily matcha was easy. I typically make my coffee using a classic\nespresso machine, so all in all, it took the same amount of time\/steps to make\na matcha latte. But the real game changer was the Matcha Maker. No fuss, just\nshake and go. I brought it to the library, and even used it a few times at home.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If I needed an extra boost of energy later in the day, I would sneak a couple spoonfuls of matcha into my green smoothie<\/a><\/u> (which happens to be high in antioxidants thanks to both matcha and turmeric).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Here\u2019s the recipe: <\/p>\n\n\n\n