Is matcha healthier than coffee? đ§
A calmer buzz, a little fibre, and what the science really says
Tea has been loved for over a thousand years, and matcha is one of its most striking forms - a vibrant green powder with deep roots in Japanese tea ceremonies.
Itâs often touted as âhealthierâ than coffee, but is that true?
Before you whisk up a cup, itâs worth weighing the potential health benefits against whether you actually enjoy the flavour - and the fact that matcha comes with a premium price tag.
What weâll cover today:
What matcha is and how itâs different from green tea
The polyphenols and fibre in a cup
What the science says for brain health and gut microbes
Ceremonial vs culinary grade (and baking with it)
Matcha recipes to try
What is matcha?
Matcha is a type of green tea, but instead of brewing the leaves and taking them out - like you would with a regular cuppa - the whole leaf is finely ground into a bright green powder that you whisk into water and drink.
Because youâre having the entire leaf, itâs richer in flavour, higher in caffeine, and packed with more of the helpful plant compounds than regular green tea.
Traditionally used in Japanese tea ceremonies, these days youâll find it in everything from lattes to cakes.
A calmer buzz than coffee
A cup of matcha has less caffeine than a cup of coffee. Thereâs roughly 70mg in a typical serving of matcha vs. about 100mg in a standard coffee.
Matcha though, also contains an amino acid called L-theanine, that crosses into the brain and encourages calm focus.
When you combine that with caffeineâs effect of blocking adenosine (the neurotransmitter that makes you feel drowsy), you get a push-pull effect - alertness from caffeine, balance and calm from L-theanine.
Together, thatâs why many people describe matcha as giving them a steadier, more focused energy, compared to the sharper jolt (and sometimes crash) that coffee can bring.
Pairing caffeine with L-theanine (like you naturally get in matcha) it sharpens attention more than caffeine alone - with brainwave changes suggesting the mind is more focused and steady.
Though of course coffee isnât âjust caffeine,â and tea isnât either. Both have dozens of other bioactive compounds (like chlorogenic acids in coffee or catechins in tea) that may shape their effects on the brain and body.
Polyphenols (and fibre) in a cup
Like coffee, matcha is also rich in polyphenols - but just different kinds.
These polyphenols can make up to about 30% of matchaâs dry weight. And 90% of them are a type of polyphenols called catechins.
These catechins are antioxidants that act a bit like fire extinguishers - they neutralise free radicals (unstable molecules that can damage our cells) before they cause harm.
They can subtly help manage both blood fat and blood sugar levels, and also blood pressure.
Unlike most teas, matcha gives you a little fibre too, since youâre drinking the whole ground leaf rather than just an infusion.
A standard cup (2-4g of powder) provides around 1â2g of fibre - not bad for such a small spoonful of powder.
Itâs mostly insoluble fibre that helps keep things moving through your gut, which in turn supports a healthy microbiome.
While itâs only a small amount, given how far most of us are from the 30g a day target, itâs still a handy extra boost. And especially in the context that itâs roughly the same amount of fibre as youâd get from a bowl of lettuce leaves.
What about your brain?
Aside from research looking at the effects of matcha on focus and mental accuracy, most of the other studies tend to look at the effects of any kind of tea (including black and regular green tea), than specifically matcha.
And like with coffee, there does seem to potentially be some brain health benefits to drinking tea.
Earlier this year a study looked at nearly 9,000 older adults in Japan and found that people who drank more green tea had fewer white matter lesions in their brains. These lesions are linked to memory problems and a higher risk of dementia.
How much? The strongest benefit seen in those who drank three or more cups a day.
That could be down to the antioxidant action of the polyphenols, potentially helping to lower blood pressure and reduce inflammation, both of which can protect the brainâs small blood vessels.
What about your microbes?
Thereâs not as much research on matcha and the gut microbiome as there is starting to be for coffee.
Even so, a 2022 randomised control trial in Japan did find that drinking matcha twice a day for two weeks shifted their gut microbes - with more of the kind linked to gut health, and fewer of the type often tied to bowel problems.
Researchers think thatâs partly down to catechins in matcha holding back certain less helpful microbes, and because drinking the ground leaf gives you a little fibre for a healthier gut.
Is matcha better for you than coffee?
Not necessarily.
While there isnât research directly comparing the two (that I can find), so itâs not a case of one being âhealthierâ - they just bring different things to the table.
Coffee packs more caffeine, which is why itâs better for a sharper jolt of mental energy and focus. Itâs also rich in polyphenols and has been studied for decades, with good evidence linking regular drinking to lower risks of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and even some cancers.
Matcha, on the other hand, has less caffeine than coffee but comes with a different mix of polyphenols (catechins) and the amino acid L-theanine. These may support heart health and a calmer, more sustained focus.
The research on matcha and green tea extracts is promising, but thereâs less of it compared to coffee, so the evidence isnât quite as solid.
In the end, itâs less about one being âbetterâ and more about what suits you best - coffee for a strong wake-up, or matcha for a gentler lift.
Or simply, which one you prefer the taste of (and can afford).
Matcha show-down - which one?
Most people think ceremonial matcha is âbetterâ, but not if youâre after antioxidants.
