U Matcha–by the Republic of Tea

The Republic of Tea gave us each a very generous press kit (it included samples of several of their teas–Angela's Mom found her favorite Red Velvet tea via a sample) at the Fancy Food Show, then emailed to ask if there was anything else we'd like to try. We chose the U Matcha Charcoal, which is so tasty we built an entire lunch around it.

Angela cooked rice with U Matcha in the water and topped it with smoked salmon plus veggies. A simple salad of greens with U Matcha in the dressing was a perfect accompaniment. Just add 1-2 teaspoons of U Matcha to your regular vinaigrette dressing recipe and shake well.

Tea Time does not consider a meal complete without dessert (actually, we sometimes consider dessert a complete meal), so J.K. made marshmallows the night before. Unfortunately, she didn't have time to cut them in the morning, so she brought the whole pan.

The marshmallow syrup was as green as the salad dressing, but after 15 minutes in the mixer, the whipped product was only slightly tinted. Whip it!

 That changed, of course, after we dusted more matcha over the powdered sugar coating.

When making marshmallows, cooking spray is essential. J.K. sprayed her mixer bowl, whisk attachment and bowl scraper. Also the foil lining the baking pan, and the knife she used to cut the finished marshmallow. Any spray oil would work, this is just the brand we had on hand.  After we cut the marshmallow into blocks, we got to work on the truffles.

This recipe for rustic truffles is quite simple. Pick your favorite type of white chocolate chunks  (about one cup), and melt with a bit of heavy whipping cream (two tablespoons) in a double boiler over medium heat. Angela added a tablespoon of U Matcha to the melted chocolate, stirred until incorporated and  stuck it in the fridge to chill. Once the filling was cold we hand rolled balls quickly. If the filling gets too warm, simply chill again.

nudie matcha balls

 We rolled them in the matcha/powdered sugar and dusted them with cocoa. These soft truffles should be kept in the fridge and served cool. Otherwise they will begin to melt at room temperature. If you want to keep them around longer you can simply take a page from J. K.!

dusted and ready for eating

Later, J.K. was dipping dried fruit in tempered chocolate to take to an Oscars-watching party, so she dipped a few truffles, too.

Due to the powdered sugar and cocoa, the truffles weren't quite coated after dipping, so she dipped them a second time after the first coat set.

The perfect creamy filling!

Tea Time isn't sure if turning U Matcha into dessert still counts as a detox, but that's okay. We'll split the difference and just call it "healthy dessert."