Matcha Vs Green Tea

How much of a tea drinker are you?

If you are, you might have heard some buzz words being thrown around like green and matcha. If you have seen these two teas, you might be a bit confused at what’s so special about them; they both look the same. But, there’s more to their green appearance that you should know about. To help you, today we’re going to break down the differences you can’t see in both teas.

What Is Green Tea?

Green tea derives from the Camellia Sinensis plant. This is a popular plant in the tea world as it’s also used for other different types of tea like white, black, and oolong tea. The manufacturing process of green tea tends to involve the leaves behind being harvested then quickly heated. This quick process allows the leaves to stay an earthy green color, and they stop going an earth brown compared to other teas. Sometimes there are different methods used, such as steaming, pan firing, sun drying, and more. Moreover, the tea taste itself tends to be earthy, grassy, and has a vegetable-like texture. Plus, once brewed it tends to have a mild flavor and look a yellowish-green color in appearance.

What Is Matcha Tea?

Matcha tea tends to be another form of green tea and produced also from the same plant. What’s unique about this tea is the growing process as the leaves of the Camellia Sinensis plant crumble into a matcha powder.

For this to be done, the tea plant is grown in the shade for the first few weeks of the harvest season. Farmers do this to stop sunlight slowing down the growth, and it allows the tea to develop unique characteristics.

Once harvested, the leaves are quickly dried to prevent oxidation. Stems and veins are removed before the leaves are ground fully into a bright green powder. Then from there, the powder is dissolved in hot water to create a tea. Sometimes people use electric whisks or handheld ones to make sure the powder dissolves fully. This type of tea tends to be sweet with bitter notes.

What’s the difference between them?

While these two teas both come from the same plant, the main differences occur in their production process and the end product in general. Matcha tends to be grown and harvested more delicately than green tea. Plus, it comes in a powder form, whereas green tea can come in powder, leaf, or blend. Finally, matcha has a sweet and frothy flavor to it, and green tea tends to have more of a mildly bitter flavor.

FAQs

Is matcha better for you than green tea?

To be honest, there are health benefits to drinking both green tea and matcha. The reason why matcha gets a lot of attention in the media is that it’s very high in antioxidants in comparison to green tea.

What is bad about matcha tea?

Generally, there’s nothing really bad about drinking matcha tea. The side effects aren’t that significant if you drink it in moderation. However, if you plan on drinking excessive amounts, you might find yourself experiencing insomnia, irritability, diarrhea, and a headache.

Is matcha basically green tea?

Even though it comes from the same plant, matcha is not green tea. There’s a big difference in how the two teas are harvested and brewed. Moreover, matcha has a sweet taste to it and vibrant color, whereas green tea tends to be mild and lighter.

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