Media buzz lately has been good to green tea. More large-scale companies like Lipton, Snapple, Starbucks, and even a beer company are increasingly showing significant interest to this new fad that they cannot miss out. As an intelligent consumer, you don’t want to be fooled and realize that you are simply drinking sugar with an itty bitty dash of green tea in it, much like how everyone else thinks that my logo is a toxic waste bin :?, until I tell you it’s the vector counterpart of this matcha green tea cup pictured in this article. 
Sure, you have in your pantry, green tea bags (bad choice), or a stock of green tea leaves, either the Chinese (why?) or Japanese (better but not good enough) variety, but hear me out. Soon, you would want to switch to Matcha for your next tea party.
I was doing a research on inflammation a year ago when I stumbled upon Matcha green tea.
What’s good about green tea in general is its ubiquitous bioflavonoid content. Bioflavonoids or simply flavonoids, are phytochemical compounds which have antioxidant benefits. Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and catechins are two of the main bioflavonoids found in green tea.
University of Colorado researchers determined the amount of catechins and EGCG found in matcha green tea and compared it with other varieties including Chinese green tea. Results indicated that the concentration of EGCG available from drinking matcha is 137 times greater than the amount of EGCG available from China Green Tips green tea, and at least three times higher than the largest literature value for other green teas.
Matcha, unlike regular green tea sold in health food stores, comes in a fine powdered form that you only need roughly a teaspoon for every serving. It is also not a stranger to most desserts. It is used as an added color and flavor to pastries, cakes and pies. Although Matcha is generally more expensive than other forms of tea, the health benefits are worth every penny as you are about find out why.
So what’s good about drinking green tea again? Well, this is perhaps one of the plants responsible for the “Japanese Paradox” that explains why Japanese people remain the healthiest in the world. Clinical trials reveal that the compounds in green tea are beneficial for a number of reasons namely:
- Flavonoids inhibiting cancer cells
- Reduces excess skin oil (sebum) for its anti-androgenic effects
- Has shown anti-aging benefits with its high ORAC value (Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity, purity test for its antioxidant effects)
- anti-inflammatory effects (arthritis, acne)
- Reduces bad cholesterols LDL and triglyceride levels
- infections
If you aim to be healthy then why not head to the right path altogether?
References
Weiss DJ, Anderton CR. 2003 Sep 5. Determination of catechins in matcha green tea by micellar electrokinetic chromatography. 1011:173-80. J Chromatogr A.
Popularity: 44% [?]
Awesome, I’m always looking for new green teas to try out.
I also must admit that I’m one of those people who thought that the logo was a toxic waste barrel (the orange looks like tongs).
Otherwise great blog, I just discovered it today.
Apparently, I guessed it right, it looked like
tongs to me as well
Thanks for the info it has been very illuminating. How much should one pay for this type of tea?
Thanks
Hi Doug,
if you buy in bulk, it shouldn’t cost you
more than 5-10$/month.
BTW, if you checked your mail, an even better way of getting the anti-aging compounds from the tea is
buying http://www.greenteamax.com/ (not an affiliate)
If you enjoy it as a tea and don’t drink it primarily as a health and anti-aging supplement, the tea powder
would do for now.
More info to your mail. Thanks for your feedback!
If you liked this article, you will love Pirate’s Chai. Uses their own imported high-grade matcha. In fact, it’s loaded with matcha. See http://www.pirateschai.com
I’d like to suggest looking into L-Theanine content in fine grade green teas. It usually amounts to 50% of the amino acid content. The Japanese love it so much they put it in everything; soft drinks, gum, candy and bottled water.
Love your work!
Because this is linked off of Wikipedia, I wanted to clarify the bolded 137 times EGCG content comment. This may have been true when he conducted the study, but it has been shown that powdered sencha has 3 times the EGCG value of matcha.
This can be verified by the study:
Mutat Res. 2001 Sep 20;496(1-2):75-81
* Ohe T,
* Marutani K,
* Nakase S.
Catechins are not major components responsible for
anti-genotoxic effects of tea extracts against nitroarenes
Great post!
E - http://blog.ateava.com/
Ebero: Thanks!
cnorwood: I appreciate you imparting this information. Will look into it further. Thanks!
And, how and where do I order the Matcha tea?
Hi Jan,
you have many options. I personally buy my Matcha through eBay. The brand is “Maeda-en” and the eBay seller is “Inpisa” (no, we don’t profit from this). It weighs 1.1lbs, 50 bucks and lasts for almost 2 years. Mine is about 1 yr and 7 months old and I still have left for 2 more months. It’s powdered, and apparently, very concentrated. You might want to serve it chilled because it doesn’t mix well with hot water. Put some cold water first then add lukewarm if you want it hot.
Another option is if you simply want the exact compounds in Matcha Green Tea, take NOW Foods EGCG. One pill is equivalent to around 3-4 cups of Green Tea. If you are battling Stage I cancer, you may experience immediate remission from taking that. Plus it’s much cheaper, much more economical, and easy access. I chose NOW Foods because it is the one trusted company that is economical without compromising their raw material quality. Jarrow is also an honest brand. 10$ good for 3-6 months.
For those searching for places to buy matcha, simply google “Matcha”, there are hundreds of links to sellers, mostly from Japan. Otherwise, ItoEn is a good source here in the states. I think one of the other benefits of making green tea is that it is a slow and thoughtful process which requees you to slow down a bit. It has enhanced my quality of life in ways I had not anticipated. I am a cancer doctor and recommend green tea to my patients, family and friends.
How does this type of tea differ from the wu-yi they are advertising???
Great Green Blog. Check out my green tips blog http://www.cipacs.org
I work for Tully’s Coffee (found in the North Western states)and we serve matcha green tea. It is roughly the same price as a Latte (around $3.50 for a big one) and you can get it almost any way that you can think of. I like just the plain matcha iced tea and the matcha latte with steamed soy milk. If there is a Tully’s coffee anywhere around you please go check it out. The stuff tastes great and makes you feel great too! If you want to see if there is a store near you check out the web page at http://www.tullys.com/