Cold pressed protein bar - Matcha Green Tea

Matcha is a food and most adults can drink it happily. The triage here is mostly about caffeine, and about the fact that you are swallowing the leaf rather than brewing it.

A good fit if

• You are an adult who tolerates caffeine and wants it in a slower, food-format drink
• You would rather consume the whole leaf than brew and discard it
• You want a green tea in food form rather than a concentrated extract tablet with medicine-label conditions
• You will actually whisk it. The grade you pay for only shows up when it is drunk plain
• You are happy to count matcha in your daily caffeine total alongside coffee and tea

Check with us first if

• Pregnant or breastfeeding. Caffeine intake is limited in pregnancy, and Australian medicines supplying more than 10 mg of caffeine must carry the statement 'Caffeine intake more than 200 mg per day is not recommended during pregnancy or breastfeeding'. A 2 g matcha serve is a meaningful part of that budget.
• Caffeine-sensitive, anxious, or sleeping poorly. FSANZ links about 240 mg a day in adults to increased anxiety, and matcha is easy to under-count because it does not taste like coffee.
• Taking any prescription medicine metabolised by the liver. Australian green tea medicines must state 'Caffeine interacts with enzyme CYP1A2 in the liver. Consult your health professional before taking with other medicines'.
• Low iron, iron deficiency, or taking an iron supplement. Tea reduces the absorption of iron from plant foods and supplements, so timing matters. The green tea entry carries the figures.
• A child or teenager wants it. FSANZ identifies 120 mg of caffeine a day as a concern level for 9 to 13 year olds, and Australian medicines supplying more than 10 mg of caffeine must be labelled 'Adults only'.
• Liver disease, or a past reaction to a green tea product. The concentrated-extract liver signal is not the same exposure as a food, but it is the same plant.
• Buying unbranded or bulk powder of unknown origin. The whole leaf is swallowed, so contaminants are not left behind in the pot.
• If you take prescription medicines, check with your doctor, pharmacist or our naturopaths before starting.

• Ceremonial grade (first harvest, youngest shaded leaf). Best known for: Drinking straight with water; the sweetest, least astringent grade and the most expensive. Absorption: Richest in amino acids and caffeine and lowest in catechins. Measured caffeine ran 472.53 mg/100 g in the top grade against 260.28 mg/100 g in food grade. Typical use: 1-2 g whisked into 60-80 mL of water below boiling. Wasted in a milkshake, because milk and sugar cover exactly what you paid for.
• Premium or daily-drinking grade. Best known for: The middle of the range: good enough to drink plain, priced to use every day. Absorption: Sits between the two ends on both amino acids and catechins. Typical use: The practical default for a daily bowl or a latte where you still want the tea to taste of tea.
• Culinary or food grade (later harvest, older leaf). Best known for: Baking, smoothies and lattes, where astringency is masked by fat and sugar. Absorption: Highest in catechins and polyphenols, lowest in caffeine and amino acids. The opposite end of the same gradient. Typical use: Cooking and blending. More bitter drunk plain, and no less green in a cake.
• Matcha latte and blended powders. Best known for: Convenience. Matcha pre-mixed with milk powder, sugar, sweetener or other actives. Absorption: The matcha is diluted by everything else in the tin, and the percentage is often not declared. Typical use: Read the ingredient list order. If sugar or milk solids come first, the matcha dose per scoop is small.
• Matcha in tea bags and blended teas. Best known for: The lowest-cost way to buy the flavour. Absorption: Brewed and the bag discarded, so most of the powdered leaf never leaves the bag. The whole-leaf advantage is lost. Typical use: A green tea with matcha in it, which is a different product from a bowl of whisked matcha.
• Matcha capsules and green tea extract tablets. Best known for: A supplement format rather than a drink. Absorption: A concentrated extract is a different exposure again, and in Australia it is regulated as a medicine with its own label conditions. Typical use: If the goal is a concentrated catechin dose rather than a drink, that decision belongs on the green tea extract page, not here.

Reference values. None. Matcha is a food, not an essential nutrient, so the NHMRC sets no Nutrient Reference Value, Recommended Dietary Intake or Adequate Intake for it, for catechins or for theanine.

Typical supplemental range. Australian tins direct half to one teaspoon, roughly 1 to 2 g, whisked into 60 to 100 mL of water at around 70 to 80 degrees, or into milk for a latte. On the published composition figures, a 2 g serve carries about 73 mg of caffeine, which sits between a cup of tea and a cup of instant coffee.

Upper level. No NHMRC Upper Level of Intake exists for matcha or for catechins. The practical ceiling is caffeine. FSANZ states there is no health-based guidance value such as an Acceptable Daily Intake for caffeine, and identifies increased anxiety at about 240 mg a day in adults and 120 mg a day in children aged 9 to 13. Roughly three and one and a half 2 g matcha serves respectively, before any coffee, cola or tea is counted.

Worth knowing. Fluoride is the other number worth knowing, because you swallow the leaf: one review estimates up to 4 mg of fluoride per litre of prepared matcha against a European adequate intake of 3.5 mg a day for a 70 kg adult, and notes that one or two servings a day stays inside that range. Traditional preparation below boiling extracts less. Your needs depend on your age, diet and health circumstances. Talk to one of our naturopaths.

Food first, where the diet allows it.

• Matcha powder itself: 1-2 g per serve; a 30 g tin is roughly 15 to 30 bowls and a 100 g tin 50 to 100
• Gyokuro and kabusecha: the other shaded Japanese green teas: shaded like matcha and high in theanine, but brewed and the leaf discarded
• Sencha and ordinary brewed green tea: the same plant, unshaded and infused; a lighter serve of everything matcha carries
• Matcha-flavoured foods: ice cream, biscuits, chocolate, latte sachets: usually culinary grade at a low percentage; treat the sugar as the main ingredient
• Coffee, cola, energy drinks and chocolate: not matcha, but they share its caffeine budget: count them together across the day

This list is the part of the page we will not shorten. If any of it applies to you, talk to one of our naturopaths or your doctor before starting.

• Pregnancy and breastfeeding. Caffeine is limited; the Australian medicine label statement is 'Caffeine intake more than 200 mg per day is not recommended during pregnancy or breastfeeding'.
• Children and adolescents. FSANZ names 120 mg of caffeine a day as a concern level for ages 9 to 13; Australian medicines supplying more than 10 mg of caffeine must state 'Adults only'.
• Caffeine sensitivity, anxiety, palpitations, reflux or insomnia. A 2 g serve carries about 73 mg of caffeine.
• Anyone advised to avoid caffeine entirely. Avoid.
• Medicines metabolised by CYP1A2. The Australian label statement directs consultation before combining.
• Iron deficiency or iron supplementation. Tea reduces non-haem iron absorption; separate matcha from iron-rich meals and supplements.
• Liver disease or a previous reaction to a green tea product. Australian oral Camellia sinensis medicines carry a liver warning statement; jaundice, dark urine, unusual fatigue, nausea, appetite loss, abdominal pain or itching means stop and see a doctor.
• Powder of unknown origin. The whole leaf is ingested, so lead, cadmium and fluoride are not left behind in an infusion.
• Fluoride intake. Up to 4 mg per litre of prepared matcha has been estimated, against a 3.5 mg daily adequate intake for a 70 kg adult.
• If you take prescription medicines, check with your doctor, pharmacist or our naturopaths before starting.