Matcha Tea: What the Current Evidence Says About Its Health Benefits

Matcha comes from green tea leaves, which are ground up into a powder. Benjamin Chasteen/The Epoch Times

Although matcha tea has been around for centuries, it’s recently increased in popularity. This may be due to its favor with celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston and Gwyneth Paltrow, and because of its purported health benefits—with many claiming matcha has even greater benefits for our health than green tea does.

All green tea comes from the same plant: Camellia sinensis. Green tea (known as sencha) is produced from the unfermented leaves of this plant. Matcha tea (known as tencha) involves shading the plant from less intense sunlight, then harvesting, steaming, and drying the leaves before they’re ground into a powder.