Chocolate Chia Pudding with Matcha Green Tea

I have been fascinated by matcha green tea for a while, primarily because it is so green. A really vibrant, it must be good for you, green.

When teapigs offered to send me some to try, I just had to say yes. I mean, now I could colour all sorts of things bright green, like cakes and biscuits and frosting, oh yes, and drinks, like so many other people all over the internet. Pinterest is awash with foods that have been turned green using matcha powder. Now it was my turn.

Unlike steeped tea, matcha green tea is made by grinding up the whole leaf into a powder, and because you consume the whole leaf it has more nutrients than normal green tea – a powerful dose of anti-oxidants,  it is energising and calming, can help with weight loss and improve your skin. teapigs matcha green tea is both organic and of a premium quality so I started to wonder why would you waste such a thing in a cake? Surely it deserves to be treated with respect.

I figured the first thing I should do is taste it. I have tried green tea before and not been overly impressed. I took the wimpy way out and mixed the powder with some apple juice (I wasn’t sure about mixing it with warm water due to the bitter taste it can have).

I measured it out with the little scoop provided and whisked it together in the shot glass teapigs also sent me. The result is a vibrant green drink that tastes of apples (although make sure you mix the dregs at the bottom with a little more apple juice if you are not keen on bitter tastes). It is sweet and pleasant and a great way to start the day. I have also blended it into banana smoothies.

i have only been drinking it for just over a week – once a day in the morning – and I am not sure I can say I notice any huge difference. My skin does look slightly better, but I have also been consuming chia seeds more frequently, so it could be a combination of the two. I was a bit worried that I might get some kind of weird rush where my head felt a bit fuzzy but fortunately that didn’t / doesn’t happen. However I will certainly be continuing with my daily green apple and matcha shot until I have finished the jar and I am more or less positive that I will be purchasing some more. I’m sure it won’t hurt to have a few more antioxidants whizzing around my system.

One thing I do know is that I don’t want to use it in cakes and biscuits and frosting (nothing against those that have), because it seems wrong. Packed full of so much goodness, the thought of mixing it into something that, let’s face it, is not good for you, feels inappropriate.

As an alternative I have mixed it into some tasty chocolate chia pudding. You may think that this is not much better than mixing it into biscuits, but you would be wrong. Chia seeds are a great source of omega-3, cocoa has anti-oxidants in it, and the whole thing is sweetened with dates, so no refined sugar.

To be honest you can’t taste the matcha green tea, so it’s a good way to sneak it into someone who refuses to eat anything green!

Suitable for breakfast, or any other time of the day, this pudding is easy and quick to make. All you need to do is put the majority of the ingredients in a bowl in the fridge to soak overnight, soften the dates in some hot water and then blend everything together.

A yummy, chocolate-y start to the day.

But if for some reason this chocolate pudding doesn’t take your fancy, then here are some other ideas of how to use your green tea powder, other than drinking it straight or with apple juice (for even more ideas visit my Matcha Match-Up board on Pinterest):

clockwise from top left: matcha mango smoothies, pomegranate, blueberry & matcha tea slushies, matcha mint iced tea, mix into guacamole.

Oh, and the lovely people at teapigs are offering all readers of The Pink Rose Bakery 10% off until the end of August, just enter the code pinkrose at the checkout (excludes matcha kits, cheeky deals and pick & mix).

But if you wait until later in the week, you will have an opportunity to win a jar of teapigs matcha green tea as well as some other tasty tea.

NB: Although the matcha green tea was provided by the lovely people at teapigs, all thoughts and opinions are my own.