The story of matcha: from Zen monks to your bowl

A bowl of matcha looks simple: a little green powder, hot water and a few quick strokes of the whisk. Behind it, though, lie eight centuries of history, Zen monks, tea masters and a growing technique unique in the world. In this article we tell you the story of matcha, how the Japanese ritual unfolds and what scientific studies say about what happens in the body after you drink a bowl.

From China's whisked tea to the temples of Japan

Matcha was not born in Japan. In Song-dynasty China (10th–13th centuries), powdered tea whisked in a bowl until frothy was in fashion. The custom reached Japan with Buddhist monks who studied in China.

The most important of them was Eisai (1141–1215), founder of the Rinzai school of Zen. In 1191 he returned from China with Zen writings, tea seeds and the method of preparing powdered tea. He planted the seeds in Kyūshū and gave some to the monk Myōe, who grew them at Toganoo and at Uji, near Kyoto – the place that would become the cradle of the finest matcha.

In 1211, Eisai wrote Kissa Yōjōki (“Drinking Tea for Health”), the first Japanese treatise on tea. For the monks, matcha was not a luxury: it helped them stay awake and clear-minded during long hours of meditation. While in China powdered tea was replaced by steeped leaves, in Japan the tradition continued and was refined.

The shade that makes the difference

What makes matcha so green and so sweet is a growing secret developed in the 16th century in Uji: a few weeks before harvest, the plantations are covered with shading nets or mats. Sheltered from the sun, the plant produces greener, more tender leaves with a sweeter, rounder (umami) taste.

The harvested leaves are steamed and dried whole, without being rolled, then cleaned of veins and stems. The result is called tencha. Only tencha, ground very finely – usually on granite millstones – becomes matcha. That is also the difference from ordinary green tea: with matcha you don't just drink an infusion, but the whole leaf, turned into powder.

Japanese tea ceremony: matcha utensils on a tray

The ritual: chanoyu, the way of tea

From Zen temples, matcha passed into the homes of nobles and samurai and became the centre of a ceremony: chanoyu or sadō, “the way of tea”. The person who gave it the form we know today was the master Sen no Rikyū (1522–1591). He made the ceremony an exercise in simplicity and attention, in the spirit of wabi: a modest room, simple utensils, a slightly imperfect bowl and an encounter lived with full presence. We have written at length about its principles in the article The Japanese tea ceremony: harmony, respect, purity and tranquillity.

The utensils of the ritual have been the same for centuries:

You'll find them all in our Matcha accessories collection.

What's in a bowl of matcha

Because you drink the whole leaf, matcha gives you more of the tea plant's compounds than an ordinary infusion. Three of them are the most studied:

  • Catechins, especially EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate), polyphenols with an antioxidant role.
  • L-theanine, an amino acid almost unique to tea plants, credited with a feeling of “alert calm”.
  • Caffeine, in a larger amount than in a cup of steeped green tea.

You may have seen the claim that matcha has “137 times more antioxidants” than green tea. The figure comes from a real study published in 2003 in the Journal of Chromatography A [1], but it compared a single matcha with a single commercial bagged green tea. The same study shows that, compared with quality green teas, matcha provides at least three times more EGCG. That is an important difference, even if not 137-fold – and we prefer to give you the correct figure.

What studies say about matcha and mood

Matcha's most interesting effect comes from the combination of L-theanine and caffeine. An EEG study from 2008 [2] showed that L-theanine, in doses close to those in a few cups of tea, increases alpha brainwave activity, associated with a relaxed but attentive state, without drowsiness. Other research has found that L-theanine and caffeine taken together can improve attention more than caffeine alone [3]. That is where the description many matcha drinkers give comes from: energy, but without the jitters or the “crash” that can follow coffee.

Studies carried out with matcha itself are still few and small, but promising:

  • A randomised study carried out in 2017 at Wageningen University (Netherlands) [4], with 23 participants, found a slight improvement in attention speed and working memory after 4 g of matcha, with no effect on mood.
  • Japanese researchers studied the effect of daily matcha consumption on cognitive function under mild stress in middle-aged and older adults [5].
  • A randomised study published in 2024 [6] gave 2 g of matcha daily for 12 months to older adults with mild cognitive decline. The authors consider matcha a simple strategy to include in a daily routine, but larger studies are needed to confirm it.

A critical review of human and animal studies published in 2022 [7] reaches a balanced conclusion: matcha has real potential, especially for attention and calm, but the evidence in humans is still limited.

What happens to matcha in the body: absorption at cellular level

When you read about “the power of antioxidants”, it's worth knowing what actually reaches the cells. Here science has a few clear things to say.

Catechins are poorly absorbed. Only a small part of EGCG passes from the gut into the blood. There are several reasons: some of it breaks down in the digestive tract, absorption in the small intestine is low, and what is absorbed is quickly transformed by the liver and gut (through sulphation and glucuronidation) [8]. Intestinal cells even have “efflux pumps”, proteins called MRP2, that send some EGCG back into the gut [8]. On average, it is estimated that only around 5% of the catechins consumed appear in the blood [9]. As a reference, after two cups of green tea (about 195–220 mg of EGCG), the peak blood concentration is around 0.16 micromoles per litre [8].

The body “trains” itself. Studies in humans show that when you drink green tea regularly, blood EGCG levels rise compared with the first dose [8]. One proposed explanation, so far shown in mice, is that the gut produces more transporter proteins (DTDST) that take up EGCG from the intestine [10]. In other words, the daily habit matters more than an occasional bowl.

What isn't absorbed isn't lost. Catechins that don't pass into the blood reach the colon, where gut bacteria turn them into smaller compounds that can then be absorbed [8].

What you eat alongside matters too. In one study, EGCG taken on an empty stomach reached the blood in amounts about 3.5 times higher than when taken with a meal [9]. Other research has found that a slightly acidic environment, for example from fruit, helps EGCG stay stable during digestion [11]. That is why many people prefer to drink matcha between meals.

L-theanine, by contrast, is well absorbed and passes from the blood into the brain, where it has the effect described above.

In moderation, like every good thing

In 2018 the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) assessed the safety of green tea catechins [12]. Its conclusion: catechins from traditionally prepared green tea are generally safe. Problems arise with green tea extract supplements, at doses of 800 mg of EGCG per day or more. A bowl of matcha made with 1–2 g of powder contains far less, roughly 35 to 140 mg of EGCG, depending on quality and quantity.

But don't forget the caffeine: matcha contains more than ordinary green tea. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, sensitive to caffeine or taking medication, ask your doctor how much matcha is right for you.

Watch what you buy: not everything green is matcha

As matcha has grown popular, many products have appeared that merely carry the name. Some powders sold as “matcha” have nothing to do with Japan or with shaded tencha leaves: they are ordinary ground green tea, often of poor quality, or even green barley powder or other grasses that look similar in colour but are not tea at all. The international tea classification standard (ISO 20715:2023) and Japanese labelling rules define matcha as the powder made from tencha – that is, from shaded and ground tea leaves.

Nor does the label “ceremonial” guarantee anything on its own: the term “ceremonial grade” is used mainly in the West, and there is no such official classification in Japan. What matters is where the tea comes from and who stands behind it.

Here's what to look for when choosing matcha:

  • Origin: Japan, ideally with the region specified (for example Uji, Shizuoka or Kagoshima) and a known supplier.
  • Ingredients: just one – matcha green tea. No sugar, milk powder, flavourings or colourings.
  • Colour: bright, vivid green. Yellowish, brownish or olive-green shades betray old leaves, unshaded tea or poor storage.
  • Texture: very fine, like a silky powder that sticks slightly between your fingers.
  • Smell and taste: fresh, vegetal, slightly sweet. A very bitter, grassy or hay-like taste is a bad sign.
  • Packaging: an airtight, opaque tin in small quantities (usually 20–40 g), because matcha oxidises quickly in air and light.
  • Price: real matcha, shade-grown and finely ground, cannot be cheap. A very low price for a large quantity is a warning sign.

Syrups, “matcha latte” mixes and ready-made “matcha” drinks have nothing traditional about them. Most of the time they contain a lot of sugar, milk powder, flavourings and colourings, and the matcha, if any, is in small amounts and of lower quality. Always read the ingredients: if sugar comes first, you're buying a dessert, not a tea.

That is why the matcha we sell comes from Japan, from a trusted European supplier, is certified organic, has a single ingredient and is packed in an airtight metal tin.

How to prepare a bowl of matcha

  • Amount: one scoop of matcha, sifted through the matcha sieve into a bowl, for 230 ml of water.
  • Preparation time: 1 minute.
  • Method: mix the powder with 30–50 ml of hot water at 80°C and whisk with a matcha whisk in the ceramic bowl, in zigzag, diagonal or circular movements, until a fine foam forms. Then top up with the rest of the hot water.
  • Water temperature: 80°C. Boiling water scorches the powder and makes matcha bitter.

Want to try it? Discover Japan Ceremonial Matcha Organic, from Shizuoka and Kagoshima, or our whole Matcha collection.

This article is for information only and does not replace medical advice. The studies cited describe the researchers' findings; they are not health claims about our products.

Sources and scientific studies

  1. Weiss DJ, Anderton CR. Determination of catechins in matcha green tea by micellar electrokinetic chromatography. Journal of Chromatography A, 2003. PubMed
  2. Nobre AC, Rao A, Owen GN. L-theanine, a natural constituent in tea, and its effect on mental state. Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2008. PubMed
  3. Owen GN, Parnell H, De Bruin EA, Rycroft JA. The combined effects of L-theanine and caffeine on cognitive performance and mood. Nutritional Neuroscience, 2008.
  4. Dietz C, Dekker M, Piqueras-Fiszman B. An intervention study on the effect of matcha tea, in drink and snack bar formats, on mood and cognitive performance. Food Research International, 2017. ScienceDirect
  5. Effects of Daily Matcha and Caffeine Intake on Mild Acute Psychological Stress-Related Cognitive Function in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Study. Nutrients, 2021. MDPI
  6. Effect of matcha green tea on cognitive functions and sleep quality in older adults with cognitive decline: A randomized controlled study over 12 months. PLOS ONE, 2024. PMC
  7. The therapeutic potential of matcha tea: A critical review on human and animal studies. 2022. PMC
  8. Therapeutic potential of green tea catechin, (-)-epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate (EGCG) in SARS-CoV-2 infection: Major interactions with host/virus proteases (section on EGCG bioavailability in humans). PMC
  9. Green tea (Camellia sinensis) catechins and vascular function. British Journal of Nutrition. Cambridge
  10. Identification of the Catechin Uptake Transporter Responsible for Intestinal Absorption of Epigallocatechin Gallate in Mice. Scientific Reports, 2019. Nature
  11. Food Inhibits the Oral Bioavailability of the Major Green Tea Antioxidant Epigallocatechin Gallate in Humans. Antioxidants, 2015. PMC
  12. EFSA ANS Panel. Scientific opinion on the safety of green tea catechins. EFSA Journal, 2018. EFSA Journal