I am sure almost everyone has heard of Japanese matcha and it’s specially cultivation methods as well as health benefits. Because matcha means green tea, there are many versions of green tea marketed as matcha. Thehttp:// colour and taste of a genuine Japanese matcha is very different from many others you can try.

I am slightly peculiar in that I get a headache from drinking jasmine tea and also when I consume foods containing ‘matcha’. This however, does not happen when I eat or drink Japanese matcha.

Combining dark chocolate with Japanese matcha powder turned this shortbread a brownish colour. I’ve use Godiva’s 85% dark chocolate, you can use other percentages of dark chocolate or even milk chocolate. Personal preferred types of chocolate : dark.

Ingredients: makes about 48 fingers

1/2 cup sugar

227g butter, cold, cubed

2 cups plain flour

1 tablespoon Japanese matcha powder

1 square (about 10g) of 85% dark chocolate

Method:

• Sieve and mix the matcha powder with the flour.
• Grate the dark chocolate into the flour.
• Add the sugar and mix well.
• Cut in the cold butter cubes. Use a dough hook to mix it all together if you are using mixer or a pastry cutter or your fingers.
• Stop mixing once the mixture comes together. Wrap in some cling wrap and refrigerate for about 20 minutes or 10 minutes in the freezer.
• Preheat oven to 180ºC (375ºF)
• Roll out the dough between two sheets of parchment paper into a rectangle.
• Cut into fingers and pierce the middle of each slice with a fork.
• Place fingers slightly apart on cookie trays and bake for 15-18 minutes.