Matcha's Surge: Exploring Green Tea Health Perks

Matcha has experienced a surge in popularity in recent months, leading to reports of global shortages and price increases.

If you haven't been caught up in the craze, matcha is a powdered version of green tea. On a cafe menu you might see a hot or iced matcha latte, or even a matcha-flavoured cake or pastry. A quick google brings up countless recipes incorporating matcha, both sweet and savoury.

Retailers and cafe owners have suggested the main reasons for matcha's popularity include its "instagrammable" looks and its purported health benefits.

But what are the health benefits of matcha? Here's what the evidence says.

First, what is matcha?

Matcha is a finely ground powder of green tea leaves, which come from the plant Camellia sinensis. This is the same plant used to make green and black tea. However, the production process differentiates matcha from green and black tea.

For matcha, the tea plant is grown in shade. Once the leaves are harvested, they're steamed and dried and the stems are removed. Then the leaves are carefully ground at controlled temperatures to form the powder.

The production process for green tea is simpler. The leaves are picked from the unshaded plants, heated and then dried. We then steep the dried leaves in hot water to get tea (whereas with matcha the whole leaf is consumed).

With black tea, after the leaves are picked they're exposed to air, which leads to oxidation. This makes the leaves black and gives the tea a different flavour.

A source of phytonutrients

Phytonutrients are chemical compounds found in plants which have a range of benefits for human health. Matcha contains several.

Chlorophyll gives plants such as Camellia sinensis their green colour. There's some evidence chlorophyll may have health benefits - including anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and anti-obesity effects - due to its antioxidant properties. Antioxidants neutralise free radicals, which are unstable molecules that harm our cells.

Theanine has been shown to improve sleep and reduce stress and anxiety . The only other known dietary source of theanine is mushrooms.

Caffeine is a phytonutrient we know well. Aside from increasing alertness, caffeine has also demonstrated antioxidant effects and some protection against a range of chronic and neurodegenerative diseases. However, too much caffeine can have negative side effects.

Interestingly, shading the plants while growing appears to change the nutritional composition of the leaf and may lead to higher levels of these phytonutrients in matcha compared to green tea.

Another compound worth mentioning is called catechins, of which there are several different types. Matcha powder similarly has more catechins than green tea. They are strong antioxidants, which have been shown to have protective effects against bacteria, viruses, allergies, inflammation and cancer. Catechins are also found in apples, blueberries and strawberries.

What are the actual health benefits?

So we know matcha contains a variety of phytonutrients, but does this translate to noticeable health benefits?

A review published in 2023 identified only five experimental studies that have given matcha to people. These studies gave participants about 2-4g of matcha per day (equivalent to 1-2 teaspoons of matcha powder), compared to a placebo, as either a capsule, in tea or in foods. Matcha decreased stress and anxiety, and improved memory and cognitive function. There was no effect on mood.

A more recent study showed 2g of matcha in older people aged 60 to 85 improved sleep quality. However, in younger people aged 27 to 64 in another study, matcha had little effect on sleep.

A study in people with obesity found no difference in the weight loss observed between the matcha group and the control group. This study did not randomise participants, and people knew which group they had been placed in.

It could be hypothesised that given you consume all of the leaf, and given levels of some phytonutrients may be higher due to the growing conditions, matcha may have more nutritional benefits than green tea. But to my knowledge there has been no direct comparison of health outcomes from green tea compared to matcha.

There's lots of evidence for green tea

While to date a limited number of studies have looked at matcha, and none compared matcha and green tea, there's quite a bit of research on the health benefits of drinking green tea.

A systematic review of 21 studies on green tea has shown similar benefits to matcha for improvements in memory, plus evidence for mood improvement.

There's also evidence green tea provides other health benefits. Systematic reviews have shown green tea leads to weight loss in people with obesity , lower levels of certain types of cholesterol , and reduced blood pressure . Green tea may also lower the risk of certain types of cancer .

So, if you can't get your hands on matcha at the moment, drinking green tea may be a good way to get your caffeine hit.

Although the evidence on green tea provides us with some hints about the health benefits of matcha, we can't be certain they would be the same. Nonetheless, if your local coffee shop has a good supply of matcha, there's nothing to suggest you shouldn't keep enjoying matcha drinks.

However, it may be best to leave the matcha croissant or cronut for special occasions. When matcha is added to foods with high levels of added sugar, salt and saturated fat, any health benefits that could be attributed to the matcha may be negated.

Evangeline Mantzioris is affiliated with Alliance for Research in Nutrition, Exercise and Activity (ARENA) at the University of South Australia. Evangeline Mantzioris has received funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, and has been appointed to the National Health and Medical Research Council Dietary Guideline Expert Committee.