I had never heard of matcha green tea powder before so I was curious. What is matcha tea and what makes it different from other green teas? So I did some research.
With most teas, green or otherwise, you only drink the water that the leaves have steeped in. You don’t actually consume the leaves. With matcha green tea you actually consume the leaves, so you get a lot more of the nutritional benefit. Since you are actually drinking the tea plant, it doesn’t come as whole leaves in a little bag. It comes as a powder.
How Matcha Powder is Made
Matcha green tea comes as a fine powder, and it is very carefully prepared. Before harvesting the leaves, they cover the bushes for a few weeks to block direct sunlight. Doing this causes the leaves to turn a darker green, increases chlorophyll, and causes the production of amino acids like L-Theanine.
Once harvested, the leaves are laid out flat to dry. When the begin to crumble, the veins and stems are removed from the leaves and the rest is ground by stone into a fine powder. This is matcha powder.
What Are the Benefits of Matcha Green Tea Powder
Green tea is known to be high in antioxidants, specifically catechins. Those antioxidants are more concentrated in matcha green tea. Antioxidants repair and prevent the damage that free radicals cause in the body. According to WebMD, green tea can help with cholesterol, blood pressure and other blood and blood vessel-related issues. It can also help prevent the plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
I mentioned before that the special preparation of the tea plants before harvest increases the amount of the amino acid L-Theanine in the matcha powder. L-Theanine may help relieve stress, help boost your immune system, and support your cardiovascular system.
The increased chlorophyll in matcha green tea powder may help to control hunger and cravings and can work to detoxify the body by binding with various environmental pollutants, like toxic metals.
Where to Find Matcha Powder
Traditionally, matcha tea is the tea from the Japanese tea ceremony. I’ve never participated in the ceremony but I’m sure the ceremonial aspect at least adds to the relaxation benefits, and probably the other health benefits as well.
Now, matcha powder is used as flavoring in a lot of different things ranging from smoothies to cookies and cake.
Where I first heard about matcha green tea powder is in Ten4, a new energy drink from Nikken. Green tea contains natural caffeine, so it makes perfect sense as an energy drink. It is a natural caffeine with all natural ingredients, not like most of the other popular energy drinks available. Kenzen Ten4 doesn’t contain any artificial flavors, sweeteners, colors or preservatives and no GMOs.
Disclaimer: I am a Nikken distributor, so if you order Kenzen Ten4 through a link on this page I may earn some income from your purchase. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
