You can almost always find this bright jade-colored green tea powder in any coffee shop or health food store. It’s added to lattes, milkshakes, sodas, hot chocolates, smoothies, and even ice cream and cookies for dessert. 

Many people say that it is a superfood because it is full of antioxidants and can help avoid cancer, improve memory, and lower stress and anxiety. That should be enough to get most people to drink matcha. But does it live up to all the talk or is it just another new trend that won’t stick for a long time?

What is Matcha?

Matcha’s fame has gone through the roof lately, and you can find matcha shots, lattes, teas, and even desserts everywhere from health stores to coffee shops. Matcha comes from the Camellia sinensis plant, just like green tea. But it is grown differently and has a different set of nutrients. To grow matcha, farmers cover their tea plants 20–30 days before harvesting to keep them from getting full sunlight. 

This makes the plant make more chlorophyll, adds more amino acids, and makes the plant greener. After the tea leaves are picked, the stems and veins are taken out and the leaves are ground into a fine powder called matcha. 

Matcha is made from the whole tea leaf, so it has more energy and antioxidants than green tea. Studies of matcha and its parts have shown that it has a number of health benefits. For example, it can help protect the liver, improve the health of the heart, and even help you lose weight.

1. High in antioxidants

Catechins are a type of plant substance found in tea that fights free radicals. Matcha has a lot of catechins. Antioxidants help keep dangerous free radicals in check. Free radicals are chemicals that can damage cells and lead to long-term illness. 

When you mix hot water with matcha powder to make tea, the tea has all the nutrients from the whole leaf. It usually has more catechins and antioxidants than just letting green tea leaves soak in water. Adding matcha to your diet could help you get more antioxidants, which could help stop cell damage and even lower your risk of a number of long-term diseases. 

2. Improves performance of the brain

Multiple studies have shown that caffeine improves brain function, such as by making you move faster, paying more attention, and remembering things better. Matcha also has a chemical called L-theanine in it. This chemical changes how caffeine works, making you more alert and preventing the energy crash that can happen after you drink caffeine.

L-theanine has also been shown to make the brain make more alpha waves, which may help people relax and feel less stressed. But, as both experts pointed out, there have only been tests on animals and a few small tests on people.

3. Could help prevent cancer

Matcha is full of compounds that are good for your health. Some of these compounds have been linked to preventing cancer in test tube and animal studies. In one study, rats with breast cancer were given green tea extract. This made their tumors smaller and slowed the growth of the cancer cells.

Matcha has a lot of EGCG, which is a type of catechin that has been shown to fight cancer very well. In a test tube, the EGCG in matcha was found to help kill prostate cancer cells. Other studies in test tubes have shown that EGCG helps fight cancers of the skin, lungs, and liver.

4. May be good for the heart

Heart disease is the top cause of death in the world. About one-third of all deaths in people over the age of 35 are caused by heart disease. Some studies have shown that drinking green tea, which has many of the same nutrients as matcha, may help protect against heart disease.

Green tea has been shown to lower overall cholesterol, “bad” LDL cholesterol, and triglyceride levels. It may also help stop LDL cholesterol from getting oxidized, which is another thing that may help keep heart disease at bay.

Studies that just look at what happens have also shown that drinking green tea is linked to a lower chance of heart disease and stroke. If you drink matcha as part of a healthy diet and lifestyle, it may help keep your heart healthy and protect you from getting sick.

5. It may help people lose weight.

The National Institute for Health says that green tea “increases energy expenditure and fat oxidation, decreases lipogenesis and fat absorption, and may have a small effect on body weight.”

One clinical study published in Obesity followed 76 overweight people for four months. They found that drinking a green tea drink every day helps people lose weight.

6. It might give you healthy skin that glows.

Matcha powder and green tea are not only good for the inside of your body, but they can also help your face. Green tea’s ingredients may be helpful for regenerating skin, fixing wounds, or treating epithelial conditions like aphthous ulcers, psoriasis, rosacea, and actinic keratosis when applied to the skin.

 

How to Prepare Matcha Tea

Making matcha tea is easy, and it’s a great way to take a break and think about yourself and your health. But each cup is different. For example, even though it’s the same tea, matcha brewed at 160 degrees Fahrenheit will taste very different from matcha made at 175 degrees Fahrenheit.

Here’s how you can make one:

1. Two grams of matcha powder and two ounces of warm water (below 175 degrees Fahrenheit is best) make up the base recipe.
2. Add matcha to your tea bowl and heat it up. At first, only add a splash of water and use your whisk to mix it into a paste. This will make sure that any clumps are brushed away.
3. Last, add the rest of the water and whisk until you get a thick, creamy froth.

 

So, Should you go for matcha tea?

Matcha comes from the same plant as green tea, but because it is made from the whole leaf, it has more antioxidants and healthy plant chemicals.

Studies have shown that matcha and its ingredients are good for your health in many ways, from helping you lose weight to lowering your risk of heart disease. Best of all, the tea is easy to make, so you can easily add it to your diet and add a burst of flavor to your day.