Iced Matcha Latte

Measure a heaping teaspoon, place it into a ceramic bowl, add just a few sips of hot water and whisk it until frothy. Whip it until any small lumps of tea are completely broken up. Slowly whisk your choice of milk (best: whole or 2 percent) or plain soymilk into the mixture. Don't add too much milk. The liquid should still have a creamy jade color. Then pour over ice and enjoy. While still hot, before you add milk, you can also add some honey or vanilla syrup, if you like your latte sweet.

White Tea Smoothie

To make 2-1/2 cups of white tea smoothie, gather these ingredients. The fruit must be frozen to make a thick smoothie.

1½ cups of frozen fruit (berry medley pictured - raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries)
3/4 cup fat-free milk or soy milk (or plain yogurt)
1/4 to 1/2 cup brewed white tea 1/2 cup pomegranate juice or pom/blueberry
1 peeled banana, frozen

Put frozen fruit, milk, white tea, pom juice and frozen banana chunks in a blender. Cover and blend until smooth. Serve right away.

Instant Green Tea Ice Cream

Use your favorite vanilla ice cream. I prefer Brayers for the natural ingredients. Put carton in the fridge to soften. Mix one teaspoon of Matcha green tea powder into the softened ice cream. Put it back into the Refrigerator for 10-15 minutes to harden a bit. Add favorite toppings and serve.

Green Tea Shortbread Cookies

2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened green tea powder (matcha)
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Superfine sugar, for sprinkling (optional)

Whisk dry ingredients in a small bowl. In a larger one, beat the softened butter with an electric mixer until just smooth. Add the almond extract, then all of the dry ingredients. Divide the dough in half and shape into two discs, wrapped in plastic. Chill the discs for an hour or two in the refrigerator, or until completely firm.

Roll the dough to your desired thickness on a floured board. You will probably want to lightly flour the top of the dough, too, before rolling. Cut with cookie cutters into your desired shape, arranging them on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. They barely expand, so there is no need to leave an abundance of space between cookies. Sprinkle a thin coat of superfine sugar over the cookies (optional).

Bake them in a preheated 325°F oven until lightly golden at the edges. For thin, small cookies this took 15 minutes. The darker the edges, the more intense the flavor and, some say, the longer the cookies will keep