If you’re in two minds about hopping on the matcha trend, don’t worry, I was too, and I’d convinced myself that I was going to absolutely hate it – so what happened when I tried it shocked me
Matcha has been an Instagram favourite drink for quite some time. The green hues of the drink seem to have massively overtaken coffee pictures all over socials, because if you’re not attending a pilates class followed by a matcha with the girlies, who even are you? And, it seems like it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
This could be because of its health benefits. Matcha is a kind of green tea which may be good for your heart, weight, and other aspects of health due to its antioxidant content, which may explain the obsession with it as more people are putting health and fitness at the forefront of their lives.
But it’s a trend I’d managed to avoid participating in…until now. With people taking to X to write: “Why does matcha taste like fish and cod liver oil? Every time someone says ‘No, you’ll love it!’ I end up gagging softly,” I really wasn’t sold on the hype.
Yes, it looks cute in photos, but I was pretty certain I’d always choose to reach for a coconut milk iced latte when out with pals during the day.
According to The Tea Makers of London, matcha has less caffeine than most cups of coffee. On average, a cup of matcha contains about 70mg of caffeine, in comparison to 100-140mg in a cup of coffee, which admittedly puts me off.
However, they also point out that matcha has a much ‘cleaner’ caffeine high. The caffeine is released slowly, giving you a longer, smoother energy hit.
This is down to the amino acid L-Theanine, which reduces how quickly the body absorbs caffeine. It can also keep you feeling alert for between three to six hours – almost a whole shift at work.
So when I saw that Caffè Nero had launched vanilla and strawberry matcha flavours, and with some pressure from my matcha-loving pals, I decided to give it a whirl for the first time.
Normally, I’d opt for vanilla-flavoured things, so I tried the vanilla flavour first. It didn’t really do much for me, sadly, as the vanilla flavour wasn’t super strong, and it just tasted a little bit weird to me overall. I thought my matcha fate was sealed as not being a lover.
However, when I tried the strawberry one, I immediately texted my friends saying, “I’m so shocked,” because I literally loved it.
It was sweet but not too sickly like the vanilla one had tasted, and it gave me the perfect pre-workout caffeine boost.
I’ll admit, I thought I was going to hate it, and it was going to go straight in the sink and never be spoken of again, but could I be the next matcha-loving girly posting endless reams of green drinks? Quite possibly.
I definitely think that having a sweet element to this drink makes it go down a lot easier than if I were to drink raw matcha. I think that’s why some people report a ‘fishy’ taste – because they’ve not sweetened the drink with sugar, honey, or syrup.
The further I got down the beverage, the more ‘matcha-like’ it tasted, but I was used to it by the time all the syrup had disappeared.
But as far as this Caffè Nero version goes, it gets a big thumbs up from me, and I’d definitely order the strawberry one when I was out and about with friends – and I’d recommend you give it a try too.