Caffeine Dream: Matcha vs. Coffee
Skip the headaches & the anxious jitters, slow down the rush with a cup of matcha green tea!
I was talking to a regular of ours recently. He pops in a couple of times a month & lets us know what teas he’s loving & how best to drink them. Conversation turned to coffee & then to matcha green tea. He mentioned that he used to have up to 5 coffees a day when working a 9 to 5, but since working shifts he has swapped to drinking matcha for his caffeine fix. He said he’d never go back to coffee again as he no longer gets the dreaded caffeine crash or any jitters.
Like how a bowl of porridge will see you sated until the afternoon, from personal experience a morning cup of matcha will get me to lunchtime with a tonne of work completed & without breaking a sweat.
Does Matcha Tea Have More Caffeine Than Coffee?
A single espresso (approx 19g of ground coffee to 38ml water) averages about 63mg of caffeine. Within 15 minutes of drinking it’ll be in your bloodstream & away you go! A general rule of thumb when dealing with coffee - & caffeine content in general - is coffee contains 10-12mg caffeine per 1g of beans.
Whereas a mug of matcha green tea (1tsp to 200ml) contains about half as much caffeine. A gram of matcha powder equates to 19-45mg of caffeine, depending on the type of matcha. Ceremonial matcha, made with the youngest leaves, contains more caffeine than matcha powder made with older leaves further down the bush.
As a quick comparison, a can of Monster Energy will deliver you a double espresso’s worth of caffeine - a staggering 150mg!
Image from Pique Life - check out their awesome articles & especially their recipes!
What are the health benefits of drinking matcha tea?
Antioxidant Rich
Leave your goji berries in bed. If you’re looking for a super food rich in antioxidants then stick with matcha green tea! Antioxidants prohibit & prevent the oxidation of certain molecules in your body, which can aid in anti-aging*! You could either drink 10 cups of Sencha green tea a day or just one potent cup of matcha!
Jitter Free
Alongside caffeine, matcha also contains l-theanine. This amino acid - only found in the tea plant - aids in the slow absorption of caffeine. It basically tempers caffeine’s quick release allowing you to enjoy the full, focussed force of the caffeine just without the jitters! In our recent tea tasting event we held at the shop, we were discussing this topic & how in brain scans l-theanine has been seen to reduce activity in the region of the brain associated with mind wandering**. Anyway, back to the blog…
Antibacterial
Matcha is also antibacterial & great if you suffer from halitosis. Bad breath is caused by the build up of bacteria in the mouth, but with the help of polyphenols in the matcha this bacteria’s growth is inhibited. Polyphenols can also help strengthen weak tooth enamel by remineralising them. Always ask you dentist for advice, but I bet they’ll agree with us!
What Is Ceremonial Matcha?
There are two types of matcha you can pickup, ceremonial & culinary. If the matcha in front of you is not vivid green, tending yellowish, then you might have culinary matcha. This powder is created with the leaves from the second harvest, resulting in that dull colour you see. Texture-wise, culinary matcha may feel grainy when rubbed between your fingers. Culinary matcha is harvested & processed quick as to retain a healthy margain.
Ceremonial Matcha, like our Izu Matcha in the shop, is as smooth as it comes. Although one of the more pricer teas on offer, ceremonial matcha’s quality is second to none. Bright green, owing to the buds & leaves picked in the first flush, ceremonial matcha gets whisked up into a smooth, creamy paste that is naturally sweet. If tasting a little bitter, double check our powder to water ratio - we’ve found less is more.
T x
*Muntu, Cynthia & Yuwono, Yulianita & Avanti, Christina & Atoum, Manar. (2023). Utilization of Green Tea Extract on Anti-aging Cream with Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT) and Tertiary Butylhydroquinone (TBHQ): Physical Stability Aspect. E3S Web of Conferences. 374. 10.1051/e3sconf/202337400006.
**Kahathuduwa CN, Dhanasekara CS, Chin SH, Davis T, Weerasinghe VS, Dassanayake TL, Binks M. l-Theanine and caffeine improve target-specific attention to visual stimuli by decreasing mind wandering: a human functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Nutr Res. 2018 Jan;49:67-78. doi: 10.1016/j.nutres.2017.11.002. Epub 2017 Nov 16. PMID: 29420994.