Matcha Myths & Facts

When you talk about matcha green tea, everyone seems to know something. Some people have the right information, while others believe in old myths. Since this wonderful drink has so many benefits, it is important to know what is real and what is just an old story. These are the most common misconceptions and the real facts:

• Matcha comes from “insert random country here” – Although the matcha tea we have today is cultivated in Japan, the matcha has its roots in ancient China. It was used for medicinal purposes and it was originally called “whipped tea”. A Buddhist monk brought the practice to Japan, where the ceremony of the tea was created, and other techniques were crafted. Nowadays, the best matcha comes from Japan.
• All Matcha from Japan is high quality – It is true that Japan produces the best matcha tea and the best and the most popular growing regions are Uji and Nishio. Matcha is also produced in other regions, but the quality is not guaranteed as they are not focusing on a single type of tea.
• Matcha is powdered green tea – Matcha and gyokuro both come from shade-grown green tea, and this makes many people believe that they are the same. Actually, the production process is different, and gyokuro leaves are only steamed, dried and rolled. On the other hand, matcha has to go through a phase named refining. At the end of this phase only the dry meat of the leaves is left, and it is ground into a powder to create the famous matcha.
• Matcha has a bitter taste – This is not true, quite the opposite. A high-quality matcha has a pleasant, natural sweetness and a slightly bitter, vegetal flavor. You can recognize a good matcha by the sweet smell and vibrant, clean green color.
• Preparation is difficult and time-consuming – It takes less than 5 minutes to prepare a good cup of matcha, and you don’t need to have special instruments. Although a bamboo whisk is preferred, you can easily use a blender, a milk frother, a mason jar or a whisk. Watch Cinnamon Girl how to make a delicious matcha tea.
• You have to drink Matcha only hot – Traditionally, matcha is consumed hot as a part of a Tea Ceremony. However, as the years passed many delicious recipes for cold and hot matcha were developed, so you can enjoy a cold matcha without worrying about its taste.
• Matcha contains a lot of caffeine – There are two types of caffeine, L-theanine and culprit caffeine. While the culprit caffeine is present in coffee and black tea and it can be dangerous for some people, L-theanine is actually beneficial. Due to its high content of L-theanine, the matcha is recommended for often consumption and it can bring a large number of benefits to the body.
• Matcha contains 137 times more antioxidants than regular green tea – While this would be truly amazing, this is not what researchers really discovered. The truth is that scientists reported that matcha has at least 3 times more antioxidant than other green teas. The number 137 is just a confusion.
• All Matcha tea is created equal – The truth is that you can find different grades of matcha tea, depending on various factors. It is easy to detect high-quality matcha by its smooth taste, while low-quality matcha has a bitter, coarse and gritty taste.