Major Health Trend Alert: Matcha Green Tea Everything

In case you didn't read our recent 2015 food trend round-up, here's a news flash: Matcha is the hottest tea in town these days. Even fashion blogger Leandra Medine of manrepeller.com is getting behind it. Rather than being steeped like other teas, Matcha green tea leaves are dried and ground up into a fine powder that can be blended into drinks, sweets, and pretty much anything else you want to infuse with a creamy, subtly sweet earthy flavor and calming energy (coffee jitters are so last year). It may be the only tea you actually eat, but it's not new—it's been used for centuries by Buddhist monks and Samurai warriors to prepare for meditation and improve mental clarity thanks to a brain-boosting, stress-reducing combo of amino acid and L-Theanine. Some even say it takes 10 cups of regular green tea to match the antioxidant power of one matcha serving. So what IS new? Being able to find it in more places. Exhibit A: America's first matcha bar opened last year in Brooklyn. Exhibit B: an explosion of new products hitting grocery stores. This tea is definitely trending. And we found the best new ways to try it.