Is matcha a green tea? 🤔
The short answer is yes! ✅
But it is a little more complicated than that!
In this article, we are going to answer the question is matcha green tea the same as green tea?
We’ll also take a look at what makes it different from a normal green tea.
Let’s get brewing!
How to decide is matcha a green tea or not?
So let's answer right off the bat, is matcha a green tea? Yes! But what makes it different from black tea, white tea, oolong or fermented teas?
What is green tea?
After tea leaves are picked, they will begin to oxidize. If a farmer wants to produce a black tea, he will let this oxidation process occur, and the tea will change from green to brown.
If he wants to produce a green tea, he will need to heat the leaves almost immediately after harvest. This stops the oxidation process, and locks in the more grassy, vegetal flavor profile of the leaf.
So if you’re wondering is matcha green tea, or any other tea for that matter, you just need to look at whether or not the leaves are oxidized.
From tencha, to green tea
So now that we’ve defined green tea, we can answer the question is matcha green tea.
For that we need to look at the production of tencha, the leaves used to make matcha.
Steaming of the tea leaves
To answer the question is matcha green tea, you only need to look at the steaming process used to make almost all Japanese green teas.
The young, shaded tea leaves used to make matcha are put on a conveyor belt and steamed in order to stop the oxidation process.
So is matcha green tea the same as green tea?
Not exactly, and for that we are going to take a look at what happens next.
Processing of tencha leaves
One step unique to tencha leaves is the removal of the stems.
These yellowish stems don’t grind as well and they detract from the flavor and green color of the matcha.
Another thing that makes the leaves unique among Japanese green teas is the fact that they are flat and not rolled.
When a normal tea like sencha is rolled, the membranes of the leaf are broken, and the tea leaves are curled tightly into a needle shape.
This means that when the leaves are exposed to water, they unfurl and release all their flavor at once.
Tencha leaves don’t have their membranes broken until they are ground, so if you were to brew them as a regular tea, they would have far less flavor.
If you want to learn more about tencha leaves, you can read this article here
How is matcha green tea different from regular green tea?
So is matcha green tea the same as green tea other than the removal of the stems? No, because matcha has an additional step that no other tea has - grinding.
The leaves are fed into a large granite mill or ishi usu which slowly grinds them into a finer and finer powder as they are pushed out through the large network of grooves. The powder is then mixed directly into water rather than being infused.
So is matcha green tea the same as green tea? No, because it is the only tea ground into a powder.
Is matcha or green tea better for you?
Matcha gets the reputation for having a laundry list of health benefits, but why is matcha green tea better for you? The answer comes down to how the tea is prepared. Tea leaves contain all sorts of beneficial antioxidants, vitamins and amino acids, but most of them are tossed out when you finish brewing the tea.
With matcha, you consume the entire leaf, along with all of its benefits. This means for each sip of matcha, you’re getting more antioxidants, more amino acids and more caffeine, which we’ll discuss next.
For a complete list of the health benefits of matcha, you can read this guide here
Why is Matcha Higher in caffeine than Green Tea
So why is matcha green tea higher in caffeine? The answer is not just about the grinding (although that does help), it’s also about how the tea leaves are grown, picked and processed. Each stage of the production process increases the caffeine content of matcha compared to other green teas.
If you want to learn more, you can read our article all about the caffeine content in matcha.
Shading
One factor that explains why is matcha green tea higher in caffeine has to do with the shading of the matcha tea plant. Caffeine is used by the tea plant as a defense mechanism, because it is extremely bitter and even poisonous to insects.
Life under shade is stressful for the tea plant, and it produces more caffeine to defend itself. This is why shaded teas like gyokuro and matcha tend to be significantly higher in caffeine.
Harvesting
Another factor that explains why is matcha green tea higher in caffeine is how the leaves are harvested. The younger leaves of the tea plant are more tender and vulnerable to insects so they produce more caffeine to compensate.
Because matcha is made using only the youngest 3-5 leaves, it has a significantly higher caffeine content compared to an older leaf tea like bancha.
Processing
The final factor that explains why is matcha green tea higher in caffeine is the processing. The stems of the tea plant produce only ⅓ the caffeine of the leaves, so when they’re removed the average caffeine content increases.
Is matcha green tea - the final verdict
So is matcha green tea? Yes, but it is a powdered green tea which comes with many advantages. Each sip of matcha is higher in caffeine, theanine and antioxidants compared to a typical green tea.
If you want to try some of the best matcha we’ve found after tasting hundreds around Japan, you can browse our selection here.
