I like to blend herbal teas from my herb garden. I like the natural ingredients and fresh taste that I can achieve with my own herbs. I’m not much of a regular tea drinker, but I really like the antioxidant qualities of green tea. Unfortunately, I can’t grow tea myself and besides – I’m just not fond of the taste.
Antioxidants are, without a doubt, an essential part of optimal health. Even conventional Western physicians now acknowledge the significance of getting sufficient antioxidants from your diet or taking high-quality antioxidant supplements. (source) Antioxidants are powerful substances, which mostly come from the fresh fruits and vegetables we eat. They prohibit the oxidation of other molecules in the body. Should you be adding these to your preparedness plan?
You should make your own decision about the health benefits of antioxidants. Here is the Bottom Line on Antioxidants and Disease Prevention from Harvard School of Public Health:
“Free radicals contribute to chronic diseases from cancer to heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease to vision loss. This doesn’t automatically mean that substances with antioxidant properties will fix the problem, especially not when they are taken out of their natural context. The studies so far are inconclusive, but generally don’t provide strong evidence that antioxidant supplements have a substantial impact on disease. But keep in mind that most of the trials conducted up to now have had fundamental limitations due to their relatively short duration and having been conducted in persons with existing disease.” Read the full article here.
Most of us are not able to pack fresh fruits and vegetables in your 72-hour kits, so this may be the next best thing.
I had the opportunity to sample culinary grade, 100% pure Organic Matcha this past week and I’m quite impressed with it. The flavor was more on the fruity side than the bitterness of green tea. I’ve been using it as an addition to my morning smoothie and it has no bitterness at all.
Matcha refers to finely milled, powdered green tea. The world of tea is deliciously complex and rich with history, and Matcha is the center of the Japanese tea ceremony. Tea is the second most popular beverage in the world (after water). Most teas come from the same plant (Camellia sinensis). Unlike other teas that you need to steep and drain through a sieve before consuming, Matcha is already in powder form, helping you take advantage of all the antioxidant qualities it has to offer.
It is 100% natural organic green tea leaves that have been thoroughly ground to form a fine powder. After this process, the powdered green tea is stored in a vacuum-sealed tin can to keep it from direct light and preserve its natural antioxidant properties.
My sample from Matcha Organics came with a downloadable pdf file and tons of recipes for using it. So far these are the tasty smoothies I’ve made the past three mornings.
Matcha Yogurt Smoothie
Ingredients:
Directions: Combine all ingredients in a blender, and blend until it becomes smooth and fluffy. Chill and serve.
Matcha Berry Smoothie
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup raspberries
- 1/4 cup blueberries
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt, plain
- 1/2 cup ice cubes
- 1–2 teaspoons Matcha De Mark
Directions: Blend all ingredients together until smooth. Serve chilled.
Mint Matcha Smoothie
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup mint leaves
- 1 banana
- 1 tangerine, peeled and sliced
- 1/4 cup strawberries
- 1 tsp Matcha De Mark
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 1 cup water or juice
Directions: Blend all ingredients until it becomes a puree. Serve chilled.
Product Information from Matcha Organics:
ENERGY, MEMORY AND FOCUS ENHANCER
Matcha has an organic Amino Acid called L-Theanine which enhances mental clarity and focus for up to 6 hours. One bowl of Match can give you that all natural clean energy you’re looking for, without the jitter effect of coffee. The clean focus you get is excellent for intense studying or high focus jobs.
FAT BLOCKER / BURNER
Matcha is an all natural metabolism booster that aids to burning fat up to 4X faster than average. Unlike other diet supplements, Matcha has no negative side-effects like hot flashes, increased heart rate or high blood pressure. It’s best to drink Matcha 15 – 30 min before a workout to enhance fat burning.
LOWERS CHOLESTEROL
One bowl a day keeps the doctor away. Drinking this USDA Organic Matcha Green Tea, on a regular basis, will lower the levels of LDL (Bad) cholesterol while raising the levels of HDL (good) cholesterol. This brand of tea is an excellent dieting supplement for your everyday nutrition.
HEALTHIER THAN BREWED GREEN TEA
USDA Organic Matcha green tea powder has over 1300 antioxidants in it, which is 137X more antioxidants than traditional brewed green tea. Traditional green tea is just brewed from the leaf, with matcha you are consuming the entire green tea leaf. This dramatically increases the amount of natural antioxidants and L-Theanine you consume.
I think the addition of Matcha Organics to my morning routine is a great way to add extra antioxidant power to my meal. I’ll consider permanently adding it to my preparedness plan.
There are affiliate links in this post. I was provided a free sample of Marcha Organics in exchange for my review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

There is a real problem for me regarding Matcha Tea, or ANY food that is grown in either China orJapan: POLLUTION! China is so toxic and polluted from the air to the water and most likely the ground as well. Almost all (if not ALL) matcha or green tea comes from China. Japan is no better, with Fukushima continuing to pour out radiation into the ocean and air, and the ground surrounding it. It has been proved that even though government officials have banned ANY products coming from the surrounding areas of Fukushima, they ARE slipping through, and being sold outside the country illegally and those selling them are hiding the fact they are from there. So for me, the health benefits from matcha or green tea do NOT outweigh the pollution they are grown in, and I will not be consuming them until they are grown somewhere else. So very sad.