Health benefits and chemical composition of matcha tea
Matcha is the oldest Japanese variety of tea, the tradition of drinking which came to us practically unchanged from the Song era. The first spring flushes - buds and tender leaves - are taken as raw materials for matcha. Three weeks before picking, the tea bushes are shaded, limiting access to direct sunlight, in order to increase the content of the beneficial amino acid L-theanine. Green tea contains four main catechins, namely epicatechin (EC), epicatechin-3-gallate (ECG), epigallocatechin (EGC) and epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), of which the latter is the most active and abundant, and matcha is their best concentrated source. With its...