What Benefits Does Matcha Green Tea Have?

Matcha, otherwise known as ‘fine powder tea’, is a green tea with a powdery consistency before it is mixed with water. It has been enjoyed in China for thousands of years, dating back to the Sui Dynasty around the year 600. When you drink normal green tea, the hot water is infused with the green tea leaves, and then these are discarded. However, a cup of matcha tea contains finely powdered green tea leaves directly blended into water, often using a special whisk made from bamboo. This makes it far more flavourful and means that all of the benefits from the leaves can be gained.

Matcha tea is packed full of nutrients, with vitamins C, A, B1-6, E and K present in the drink, alongside over 30 trace elements such as calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc and sodium! This is in addition to the caffeine and tea polyphenols. One cup of Matcha tea is more nutritious than over 30 cups of regular tea!

Health Benefits

Per 100 grams of Matcha tea, over 50 percent will be taken up by fibre, which is great for the digestive system and reduces sickness. It is also high in protein, giving the drinker much-needed nutrients for promoting healthy bones and muscle growth. Good levels of vitamin K and calcium also help here, boosting levels of bone calcium and protecting against Osteoporosis.

Matcha tea can also be seen to help clear up your skin! The vitamins involved in the drink are predominantly related to beauty, with vitamins A and C doing wonders for your skin, and vitamin B2 helping your cells to regenerate. The tea polyphenols can brighten eyes and a small amount of pantothenic acid again helps to maintain healthy skin.

With iron, sodium and magnesium, matcha is also great for the heart and blood. These, combined with other polyphenols, can be seen to regulate blood sugar and blood pressure levels, protect against heart disease and help the production of more blood.

Caffeine

Matcha is high in caffeine but doesn’t have as many negative side effects as coffee, making it a great way to boost energy and productivity. Matcha offers up around three times more caffeine than a normal cup of tea that has been steeped. This variation of tea feels more natural, eliminating the risk of feeling frantic or headachey as coffee sometimes does, instead presenting a more relaxed, yet alert, state.

Sugar

Matcha tastes quite strong and grassy, so some matcha blends are produced with the addition of sugar to make the drink more widely liked. Coffee shop chains offer up matcha-based drinks that are packed full of other ingredients, namely sugar and milk powder, turning the once healthy drink into an almost hot chocolate-like consistency. While a little bit of sugar is fine, some matcha powder blends list sugar as the first ingredient, meaning that most of your drinks’ health benefits are limited. If you’re trying to avoid sugar, then be sure to check the labels on matcha products.

Weight Loss

Opting for a Matcha tea without tonnes of sugar in it has been found to help with losing weight. Matcha contains EGCG, which boosts metabolism, increasing the rate at which stored fats are burned off. It can also help to keep off weight, as it decreases the number of new fat cells that are formed. Other properties in matcha tea also help to raise the number of calories burned and increases the amount of fat lost during exercise.

Warning: Lead

While there are many benefits to matcha tea, one thing consumers must be wary of is the amount of lead in each drink. When tea leaves are steeped and then discarded, as with regular teas, only around 10% of the leaves lead makes its way into the drink, with the other 90% remaining in the leaf. However, as the full leaf is used for matcha, there will be far more lead in each drink. It is estimated that a cup of matcha tea will contain around 30 times more lead in it than a traditional cup of green tea. Therefore, it is important to only drink one cup each day. It is also not recommended for children to drink.

If you would like to try some matcha tea, or other types of oriental teas, then check out the full range available online here at Oriental Mart!