Matcha Lemon Chiller

Poised on the highest shelf in my kitchen are two plastic bins of tea. All types of tea - black, green, hibiscus, rooibos, herbal, yerba mate...  It's an appreciation for tea gone terribly astray.  But every weekday morning without fail (I often fail on the weekends, simply because I'm not groggily following my morning routine), I make a travel mug of tea to take to work.  Usually it's green tea, so I can reap all those marvelous nutritional benefits...antioxidants!...helps burn fat!...helps curb hunger!

This summer, though, I've been trying something different for at least a few days a week. It's still tea. Matcha tea, to be specific. Matcha is ground green tea leaves that you drink or use in baking.  Inspired by a recipe from another blog, I made a matcha - honey - lemon concoction that chilled in the refrigerator overnight.

The next morning, it was the perfect way to keep cool in the morning. And I bet this drink is wonderful when sipped on the patio in the afternoon.

Matcha Lemon Chiller
Adapted from Inspired Edibles (get the original recipe here)
Makes 2 cups

Ingredients:
1/2 tsp. matcha powder
1.5 cups water, just before boiling if you can
1/2 cup lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon
1-2 tbsp. honey or agave nectar

Lots of lovely lemon zest

Preparation:
Bring the water to just before a boil. While it is heating, put your matcha powder into a heat-safe container. (I use a glass mason jar). When your water is ready, pour it onto your matcha powder. Add honey or agave nectar and lemon zest. Stir well...though I never seem to stir enough to get the matcha to dissolve, so do what you can.  Add lemon juice. Store in the refrigerator overnight in an airtight container. Give it a brief stir before enjoying the next morning.

Note: the original recipe called for steeping mint leaves in the hot water.  I tried it, but realized I preferred the chiller without the mint. I also tried using only lime juice and zest, which was too harshly tart for my taste.  Feel free to add your own strokes of genius. And add more matcha powder if that's your thing.

It's not another green smoothie!
It's a matcha lemon chiller...and it's green too.

Now that I'm drinking matcha, I'm looking forward to testing the matcha-melon milkshake from the first Baked cookbook and matcha with milk.