Organic Matcha 7 Tea Benefits and Where You Can Buy

Since you seek the best organic, we assume you know the difference between usual Japanese green tea powder and matcha powder. In case you don’t have a clear idea, let us be clear with that briefly, then we will take a look at 7 health benefits of organic matcha and where you can buy organic one.

Difference between the Sencha and the Matcha

Let’s start with the usual green tea powder you see everywhere.

Green tea powder-> It’s made of Sencha green tea. The green tea is grown with a lot of sunlight.

The sencha is widely consumed as a typical type of Japanese green teas of all. There are many types of Japanese green tea, the sencha fall into the category of “not fermented tea”. The green tea leaves start to ferment when they’re picked up, however, the sencha is steamed right away from the time it’s picked and then rubbed. So that oxidation doesn’t happen and it contains a lot of catechin.

Now, let’s move on to the matcha powder which is made of a different type of green tea. The key is that they are cultivated and processed in a different way.

Matcha powder-> It’s made of Tencha green tea. The tencha is grown with shades not to produce catechin but theanin which makes the taste sweeter. They are not rubbed after steaming.

7 Tea Benefits of Organic Matcha

These 7 benefits you see here can be gained from the usual matcha as well, however, when it comes to drinking the whole tea leaves as they are powdered, the organic one might be preferable to you.

Obesity prevention

Matcha contains tea catechin, a type of polyphenol, which burns body fat efficiently, so it is useful for obesity prevention and effective for a healthy diet. It prevents you from having a spike of blood glucose level that protects your blood vessel.
Since you drink matcha (powdered tencha), it’s considered you can consume the double amount of catechin considered to the sencha (the usual green tea).

Anti-aging Effect

Tea catechin removes active oxygen which accelerates aging, thus prevents spots and wrinkles, skin sagging and anything related to making appearance dull.

Relaxation Effect

Matcha contains theanine in a high amount. The theanine is a type of amino acids that boosts the function of the parasympathetic nervous system and controls the excitation of the brain. So that matcha has a large theanine content which has a relaxing effect. Along with the relaxation effect, it can boost your blood circulation by controlling the peripheral blood vessel and autonomous nerve that can lead you to have a good night’s sleep.

The sencha (the usual green tea either leaves or powdered) contains theanine too, but in 1/10 amount. So if you expect theanine to work for you, matcha is your bet.

It makes you calm down when you need some break from your work or concerns.

Boosting Brain Function

Caffeine has an effect of boosting cerebral activation, which can elevate your concentration and prevents you from developing dementia or even Alzheimer’s. Matcha contains about 32mg caffeine per 1g. Let’s say you consume 2g (64mg of caffeine) of matcha which equals the caffeine in a cup of coffee. We know too much caffeine can make you jittery, but together with theanine, its stimulant action can be reduced.

Creating Radiant Skin

Vitamin C in matcha, together with catechin reduces melanin pigmentation and promotes radiant and healthy skin. Vitamin C is not only considered to be effective for reducing blemishes on the skin, but also effective in producing collagen and works as an anti-oxygen agent. In addition to that, it supports decompose alcohol in a liver.

Smooth Bowel Movement Promotion

Matcha contains minerals such as calcium and dietary fibers that make your bowel movement smoother. Among two types of dietary fibers, soluble and insoluble ones and matcha contain the latter one a lot. They promote the smooth movement of your bowel. Too much calcium can make the movement dull, so be careful not to drink it too much.

Diabetic Prevention

Matcha contains saponin that has an anti-oxidative effect and an anti-virus effect. The saponin can lower the blood glucose level that prevents you from developing diabetes or excess weight gain. Additionally, it’s said that the saponin can work as an allergy prevention system.

The foam you see when you make a matcha is saponin. You find it in everyday soap bars. Generally, the soy products contain saponin, so if you make a matcha latte with soy milk, you can consume a lot amount of saponin once.

What Makes the Best Matcha?

Why the different price tags on seemingly the same sort of products? What determines the price of each matcha?
There are three elements that make them different.

Color
Taste
Flavor

Ultimately, beautiful green color, a lot of theanine which makes the matcha tea taste sweeter, and the pleasant sweet flavor (Scent) make the highest grade of matcha.

You may have the image that matcha is bitter that is right while the high-grade ones have a little bitterness and a lot of umami flavor (theanine) that makes the taste refined. You just have to experience it, try it for yourself to understand this difference. If you like the bitter taste, you don’t always want higher-grade matcha which tends to taste sweeter.

Again, you just have to taste it yourself, so you know the difference between the usual matcha and high-grade matcha.

Organic Matcha VS Non-organic Matcha

The organic cultivation is that the tea producers don’t use any pesticides or chemical fertilizer over three years in a cultivation term.

Organic Matcha Cultivation Process

Without using any pesticides and chemical fertilizers, organic matcha is cultivated with a lot of care. Two to three weeks before the cultivation, the tea leaves are completely covered by shades not to produce cathecin but theanine and other amino acids that make the taste sweeter. Shading them from sunlight gives them vivid green colors.

After the harvest, they are steamed at high temperatures not to have fermentation. Then they are processed to remove stems and leaf veins. At this point, they are called the tencha and it becomes matcha once they are powdered.

Since we consume the whole tea leaves, it’s a good idea to choose organic matcha where available. This is a unique feature of matcha that you can have all the good nutrients found in tea.

Where You Can Buy Organic Matcha

We introduce you to three Japanese tea stores where you can buy excellent organic matcha online.

Japan Green Tea Co., Ltd.

It’s one of the most trusted companies that can offer you the finest quality of matcha in bulk. They deal only with the finest quality of Japanese green teas and matcha tea with own their own tea gardens. Teamed up with local farmers in Kakegawa, Shizuoka, they established the brand of Fukamashi sencha of Kakegawa as well.

KAWASHIMAYA

They offer you the finest organic Uji matcha, where is the best-known Japanese green tea producing area in Kyoto. KAWASHIMAYA handles the highest quality of Japanese products. Since they only sell foods that are naturally made without any chemicals, so the numbers of their items can be limited. That’s how they keep the highest quality of each product.

Maruyama Tea Products Corporation

The organic matcha tea powder is one of their most popular products. They have been offering only the finest green tea products since 1933 based in Kakegawa, Shizuoka where is a well-known tea producing area in Japan.

There are matcha tea bags you can drink matcha very easily, however, we don’t recommend it here as we’ve seen the benefits of consuming it in the powdered version so you can enjoy all the goodness matcha can offer. Here’s a good article by purechimp.com comparing the difference between matcha tea bags and powdered matcha tea for your reference.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MATCHA TEA BAGS AND POWDERED MATCHA TEA

Below are our articles that might be interesting to you, especially if you happen to be in Tokyo where you can find and enjoy authentic and high-quality organic matcha on-site.

Where to Buy Best Matcha? 5 Established Matcha Stores in Japan

13 Authentic Japanese Tea Stores in Tokyo

Have you found any store that suits your needs? Are you already enjoying your organic matcha by drinking, baking, or cooking? Share your experience with us!