There are a few things I make often enough that they stop being recipes. They just become mine. This is one of them.
My morning drink lately is a warm matcha latte with raw milk, a little maple syrup, and—of course—a dropperful of tulsi.
I never drank coffee until I hit my 30's. I love(d) my morning coffee ritual, but for the last few months, it started making me jittery and anxious. My childhood bestie recommended matcha as a substitute and I haven't looked back.
It is creamy and earthy and just sweet enough. And it has become one of those little rituals that tells my body: Okay. We're starting the day now.
I thought I'd share it with you.
The ✨Morningstar✨ Matcha
Here's what I make:
- Warm raw milk or coconut milk
- ½–1 tsp ceremonial-grade matcha
- Maple syrup, to taste
- One dropperful of Morningstar Tulsi Simple
That's it. No seventeen ingredients. No complicated adaptogenic latte powder.
Just a really good matcha, good milk, a little maple, and one of my favorite aromatic herbs.
How I Make It
I start by gently warming my milk.
If I'm using raw milk, I warm it gently rather than boiling it. I want it warm and frothy, not scalding hot.
Then I add it to my mug with my matcha powder and maple syrup, and whisk it until it's smooth and beautifully frothy. I use an electric frother, but if you don't have one... whisk enthusiastically with a fork.
Froth the whole thing until you've got that lovely latte foam.
And then, add a dropperful of Tulsi Simple.
Give it another little swirl.
And that's breakfast beverage magic.
** It also works beautifully as an iced or cold latte! Just skip the warming of the milk and put all the ingredients into a mug and twirl it with the frother! I just love a hot drink ritual in the mornings, that's all.
Why Tulsi?
I love tulsi in the morning because it has such a beautiful aromatic quality.
It's warm, lively, and uplifting without feeling like you're trying to launch yourself into the stratosphere before you've even eaten breakfast.
And paired with matcha?
Oh, it's good.
The matcha brings its characteristic green, earthy bitterness. The milk rounds it out. Maple gives it just enough sweetness. And tulsi adds this lovely aromatic layer underneath everything else.
It's one of those combinations where you take the first sip and think:
Yep. That's it.
And Yes, I Know Matcha Already Has Caffeine
That's actually part of why I like this particular morning ritual. I'm not trying to make a stimulant-free “wellness latte.”
It's matcha. I like matcha.
I like the taste, the ritual of making it, and the way it fits into my morning.
The tulsi isn't there to turn it into some kind of supercharged miracle beverage. It's there because I like tulsi, and I like what it brings to the cup.
This is one of the things I want to encourage when it comes to herbs: They don't always need to be added because you have a problem you're trying to solve.
Sometimes you put an herb in your morning drink because you enjoy the plant.
Because you know it. Because you like its flavor. Because it has become part of your relationship with your materia medica.
That's herbalism, too.
A Little Ritual Goes a Long Way
I think we're often looking for complicated ways to make ourselves feel better.
More supplements. More routines. More protocols. More things to remember.
And sometimes what we actually need is something very simple that we enjoy doing every morning.
Warm milk. Green matcha. A little maple. Tulsi. Five quiet minutes.
That's my morning.
And if I'm lucky, I get to drink it before someone needs me for something.
That last part is not guaranteed.
But the matcha is.
So, if you've got some ceremonial matcha sitting in your cupboard, grab it. Warm yourself some milk. Pull out your Tulsi Simple. And make yourself a little Morningstar morning.
You don't have to be sick. You don't have to be fixing anything. You don't even have to be particularly good at mornings.
You can simply make something delicious with a plant you know.
And start there.
— Danni
Morningstar Medicinals 🌿