Article by Gavin Edley
From its roots in Japan, Matcha green tea has developed a popular following in America, Canada, and most recently, Europe.
This is primarily thanks to the suggested health benefits of consuming this warm beverage.
Matcha is basically a tea from the Kyoto prefecture in Japan. The health benefits come from the way that it is grown (under bamboo blankets for the final period of growth – to fill the leaves with chlorophyll) and the way that it is processed (ground, into a fine powder).
Matcha is seen to be healthier than traditional tea because you actually consume the tea leaf itself and therefore receive a much higher potency of antioxidants, chlorophyll, and catechins etc.
Energy-giving
Matcha contains caffeine.
Now, this is not necessarily a bad thing as matcha also contains a natural amino-acid called L-Theanine (a natural mood enhancer) which works together with caffeine to provide a prolonged release of energy over 6 hours.
In this sense, one cup of matcha in the morning should keep you going all day long, as opposed to coffee – where you need to keep having a cuppa just to maintain your energy levels.
Mind-focussing
Some years ago, Buddhist monks consumed matcha before undergoing 12-hour meditation sessions to help them remain calm and focussed.
This is due to the L-Theanine content of matcha.
L-Theanine is proven to stimulate the mind whilst helping you to maintain a sense of peace and calm simultaneously.
Metabolism-fuelling
Green tea assists in the process of thermogenesis (the body’s production of heat) which then boosts metabolic rate.
Matcha – being an amplified version of standard green tea – delivers this benefit but to a greater extent.
Cholesterol-reducing
Studies undertaken by the British Medical Foundation found that green tea is proven to help reduce bad cholesterol levels in the body.
Matcha delivers this same benefit as standard green tea, but to greater effect.
Detoxifying
With matcha you ingest the actual tea leaves – not the steeped water, and a study by the University of Colarado found that matcha actually contains 137x the antioxidants of standard green tea. Meaning, matcha is brilliant for removing toxins from the body.
In fact, matcha has more antioxidants than a lot of other ‘superfoods’ including pomegranates, blueberries, orange juice, and spinach to name but a few.
About the Author
Vitalife Matcha specialise in matcha green tea for the UK and European markets, and their matcha can be purchased online at http://www.vitalifematcha.com.
Matcha Green Tea