THEA ORGANICS Matcha in a Chia Coconut Pudding!

Something sweet but so VERY good for you!

It wasn't long ago that I wasn't a huge fan of green tea. Though granted, I've only tried it once. But, in that same way, it wasn't a few months ago that I tried matcha and kinda surprised myself at how much a fell in love. I had to ask the barista if this really was matcha. Maybe to some it has an acquired taste, but I promise you, trying it out in different ways will make rethink it as strongly as it made me. 

I couldn't be happier and more excited to work with THEA ORGANICS and bring you a weekly dose of something good, something tasty and something with a bit of matcha in it. Are you ready?

This week, I chose to go with something that is equally as good > Chia Seeds. Bringing you:

 **Matcha Chia Coconut Pudding**

When I was looking up recipes to incorporate the Thea Organics Matcha Powder, the choices were seriously endless. I kept pinning and screen shooting every one I needed to try. Ultimately I decided to start with this one. It's so very simple and doesn't even require any cooking or making. Just a few ingredients, equipment and some taste tasking in between... *cough* to make sure it's how it should be, that's all. 

I based this dessert on a recipe I stumbled upon on pinterest, which you can find here or follow a slightly adjusted one just below. 

For this recipe, you will need:

420ml canned coconut milk
1 1/2 teaspoons Thea Organics Matcha Powder
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (with the seeds)
2 tablespoons honey (or maple syrup depending on taste preference)
50 grams black and white chia seeds
20-30g shreeded coconut
Coconut or whipped cream for the topping

Method

In a blender or food processor, blend together the canned coconut milk, matcha powder, vanilla bean essence and honey.

Once it has all blended, you can check by peaking once or twice. Make sure it's off before opening the lead. If it has blended and it turned into a gorgeous dark lime green color, transfer into a bowl.

Whisk in chia seeds.

Make sure you whisk this well so the chia seeds are neither floating or end up at the bottom.  

Once that is done, cover and refrigerate. The recipe I followed suggested for an hour before doing another round of whisking, but what I found worked better, whisking it after half an hour first. This will make sure the chia seeds are not stuck together or in clumps. 

After you whisk it twice every half an hour, place back in the fridge and let it set overnight.

The next morning, it should still have a runny but thick consistency. The chia seeds should be more than four times their size - drunken on all that delicious coconut and matcha. 

Get the little jars ready but before you serve, add the shredded coconut and whisk lightly. 

Divide the mixture between the serving containers - as much as you prefer - and top with the coconut whipped cream.*

*I simply placed half a bottle (125ml) of whipping cream in a blnder, added a teaspoon of vanilla bean essence and some coconut cream. All to your taste. 

Once it reaches a smooth but stiff texture you are ready to top up the mini jars. 

Sprinkle some more shreeded coconut on top and you're done. 

Enjoy! 

I originally had in mind to use the white chia seeds, for the look of the overall pudding, but I loved it looked mixed together. You can definitely go ahead and use either or, but know that both colours have the same nutritional qualities and tastes but slightly different in texture which is another reason why I used both. 

The shredded coconut added such a delicious flavour and texture. I loved playing around with different sizes of coconut but in the end I found the slghtly larger shredded pieces worked best. They kept their shape and crisp taste while adding that fresh taste. Of course, you can add as much as you like - more or less as you prefer. 

In this recipe, I used the 100% Organic Premium Grade Matcha Powder. A superfood for many reasons. One being the highly nutritious value it has. It contains amino acids, vitamins and valuable antioxidants. It has proven to provide invaluable health benefits and is a natural source of fat burning which can fasten your metabolism. A long list and more details of the benefits, can be found on the Thea Organics site right here. 

In this recipe, I adored how silky smooth the matcha powder is in texture, which in turn, blended in seamlessly with the coconut milk. 

I used the smallest amount of it in this recipe but it is absolutely up to your taste buds. If you haven't had matcha before maybe go in with as much as I did to see how you like it. Then add more to build up to how you would prefer it best. It also depends on what you make as well. I found the coconut milk a strong but still subtle enough flavor to be in harmony with the small amount of matcha powder I used. 

Depending on how much you plan to serve per person, you can be creative with what you use to serve it in. I found this cute little jars at my local supermarket, but you can definitely look around to find something very unique and cute. As long as it's clear, you're good to go. I prefer when you can see the small dots of chia seeds and all the different colors you want to add to your very own pudding. You can play around with many different flavors, especially depending on the season. 

It's winter here in New Zealand so I thought coconut was the perfect choice. 

Let me know how you go with this, and if you have any suggestions on improvements or different ingredients to use, I would be more than glad to try out. 

Don't forget to come back next week for another round with this delicious but so very healthy Thea Organics Matcha Powder. 

Next time I will be using their INGREDIENT GRADE Organic Powder. I will be sharing my take on chocolate cookies and a secret recipe to add along side it... 

THANK YOU 

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