The health benefits of green tea have been known since ancient times . It is valued on all continents, but there is another type of this tea called Matcha , which is gaining even more attention for its beneficial properties. If you are wondering what makes it special and how it differs from traditional green tea - you will find all the answers below.
Same plant, different production process
Both Matcha and green tea are obtained from the leaves of the Camellia Sinensis plant, but these teas differ due to the special method of cultivation and production.
Regular green tea is made from all grown tea leaves, regardless of their age or cultivation specifics. The manufacturing process uses heat and then the leaves are crushed.
The method of making matcha is much more refined, it uses only young green tea leaves that are steamed and ground into a powder.
When we drink regular green tea, we taste the whole harvest, while in a cup of Matcha there are only the leaves of the first harvest. The first harvest is always considered the best and highest quality harvest.
Not only that, the leaves grown for Matcha are grown covered for two to four weeks before harvesting to avoid direct sunlight. Ordinary green tea can only dream of such protection from the hot sun.
Thus, the production process of Matcha is much more complicated and expensive than that of green tea. The question arises: " does the price of this process mean that the product itself is better?" In this case, yes indeed!
Milder taste
Because the leaves are protected from the sun during the last two to four weeks of growing Matcha tea, this reduces the production of catechins that cause bitterness. Because of this, Matcha has a mild, lightly frosted taste that leaves a richer green tea aftertaste. These nuances are appreciated in traditional tea ceremonies.
A higher nutritional value is maintained
Due to its unique cultivation and production process, Matcha tea has a much higher nutritional value than regular green tea, which means that its health benefits are also much higher.
The secret is that the young leaves used in Matcha retain more vitamins and antioxidants. Their unique growing process also increases chlorophyll and amino acid levels and creates a darker green color.
What's more, when you drink Matcha, you ingest the whole tea leaf, so you get the full nutritional value of the green tea plant. Studies show that Matcha has at least 3 times more EGCG than popular types of green tea (and up to 137 times more EGCG than certain brands of green tea).
Due to its high nutritional value, Matcha is regarded as a superfood that can:
- Improve mental performance
- Provide an anti-cancer effect
- Help protect heart function
- Help protect the liver
- Help lose weight