Is your matcha a fake?

With so many people watching their weight now, tea has become known as one of the best drinks around in aiding fat loss.

Studies have shown it to repel cravings, boost your metabolism and reduce belly fat but, with so many varieties available to buy, Matcha tea is by far and away the leader.

It has more than twice the amount of EGCG (a potent fat burning antioxidant) compared to other brews, even green tea.

Is Your Matcha A Fake?

The benefits of Matcha

Matcha contains the nutrients from the entire leaf, which results in a greater amount of caffeine and antioxidants that are usually found in green tea.

It has a number of benefits which studies have shown are good for your health. It is rich in catcehins, a class of plant compounds in tea that act as natural antioxidants, which many prevent cell damage in the body.

It has been suggested that matcha may protect the health of your liver, while studies have also shown that several of the components in matcha could help to enhance brain function.

The most potent benefit, though, is weight loss. Green tea extract has been shown to increase metabolism and fat burning, and these benefits are more abundant in matcha.

The evidence

Japanese Matcha tea has become known as a ECGC superfood in recent years, with the nation producing and exporting it to great success worldwide.

However, China has now begun to export their own version of the green tea powder and there’s a chance you could be sipping the knockoff, and have been doing for several years.

While Japanese Matcha is sweet, frothy and brimming with nutrients, its Chinese imitator is potent, has a bitter flavour and is packed with chemicals.

In 2013, Greenpeace tested 18 random samples of Chinese green tea products and discovered 66% of them contained at least one pesticide banned for use on tea leaves.

Due to Japan having strict agricultural safety standards, this is something you don’t need to worry about when drinking their matcha.

The difference

The soils in which Japanese matcha is grown separates it from the Chinese knock-offs, which has a big influence on several of the powder’s properties.

While tea-powdering may have originated in China many years ago, the farming techniques for matcha have been developed and perfected by the Japanese over several centuries.

It’s no simple task to grow matcha. The process requires leaves to be shielded from the sun to preserve their rich green colour and they must be steamed immediately after picking to prevent oxidation.

This ensures the powder produces a drink that has a delicious, sweet flavour profile.

The matcha exported from China, on the other hand, uses a different process. Their leaves are not grown in the shade and, what’s more, they’re pan-fried to stop the oxidation process, which in fact ferments the leaves.

Thanks to this, Chinese matcha does not have the same vibrancy or frothiness of the Japanese equivalent and has a rather dull taste and sandy texture instead.

Unless you’ve tried matcha from both Japan and China, you might not notice the differences in colour and taste, but you will see a difference in price.

An ounce of Japanese matcha can range from £20 to £25, while the Chinese stuff can cost up to five times less, at £5 an ounce. While you may baulk at that price initially, further down the line your body will be thankful!