How Is Matcha Tea Produced
Matcha is a unique type of green tea that derives from the same species of plant as green, black and oolong teas. Matcha green tea is cultivated and produced in Japan although it grows in many other areas around the world. Japanese farmers perform a delicate process when they harvest this type of tea. It involves shading the plant with rice straws and bamboo mats to decrease direct sunlight that the plant is subjected to. This shading process alters the levels of caffeine and sugar in the plant.
Once the plant has reached the desired stage of growth, it is handpicked by the farmers. This occurs when the tea leaves are the greenest and only the youngest ones are taken. The leaves are then steamed so the oxidizing process wouldn’t begin and that what causes the tea to keep its numerous vitamins, nutrients, and minerals. Leaves are air-dried with the use of special heated blowers and then undergo a procedure of being graded. The tea is placed into different containers based on its color, smell, and texture. It is then that the hard and time-consuming work begins which requires to destem and devein this categorized tea leaves. The containers get labeled and are placed into a cold refrigerated room where they are kept for awhile.
After that, another difficult task begins that requires to ground the leaves into a fine powder. This grounding process is carried out with the use of huge granite wheels that slowly rotate and rub against each other. The grounded green tea powder is what we call matcha tea. It is carefully and accurately vacuum packed and placed back into the refrigerator until it is shipped as a finished market product. Matcha tea is more expensive than the rest of the green teas because of the distinct production process and the tedious, difficult and precise work that needs to be made when cultivating the tea leaves, but it also has more health benefits than the other teas.
The demand for Matcha tea has skyrocketed in the past years with matcha lattes, shots, and even puddings appearing in coffee shops and health stores. Matcha tea, similarly to the green tea originates from plant species known as Camellia sinensis plant, although the cultivation methodology is quite different to increase its nutritional content.
Top Five Benefits of Matcha Tea Based on Scientific Evidence
1. Effective antioxidants.
Matcha has a very high level of catechins, and they are the most effective natural antioxidants plant compound. Antioxidants help the body relief from harmful free radicals, which have the potential of damaging cells, thus causing long-lasting illnesses. By adding two to three teaspoons of matcha tea powder into hot water when preparing your tea, the tea will have all the required nutrients in the body as delivered from the entire leaf. To increase antioxidant in your diets ensure to add matcha powder in your diet frequently as a way of preventing your cells, thus lowering the risk of suffering from chronic diseases.
2. Protect your liver cells.
The liver is one of the most vital body organs since it metabolizes drugs as well as eliminating body toxins. A study that involved giving diabetic rats matcha tea for 15 weeks revealed that matcha prevented kidney and liver damages to a significant percentage. It is recommended to take in around 500 mg of matcha tea extract for three months to reduce liver enzymes rates significantly.
3. Improve your brain functioning.
Several studies have shown that a high level of caffeine improves the operation of the brain, citing increased attention and memory, faster reaction, and response in the brain. Matcha tea has higher caffeine levels about four times compared to green tea. Matcha has an additional compound known as L-thiamine, which enhances caffeine functioning by promoting alertness.
4. Prevent Cancer.
Matcha tea has multiple anti-carcinogenic compounds such as epigallocatechin -3- gallate a form of catechins, thus consuming matcha tea can be an effective way of killing off breast and prostate cancer cells.
5. Heart protection.
Heart diseases are the reading causes of deaths all over the world. Drinking matcha tea similarly to green tea has the potential of protection from heart diseases due to the reduction of bad cholesterol.