I’ve been road-testing matcha tea since December 2017.  The claims about how beneficial matcha tea is are hard to ignore…

• High in the antioxidants needed to help clear the body of harmful chemicals
• Boosts memory and concentration
• Increases energy levels
• Detoxifies the body
• Fortifies the immune system

Hype is all well and good, but what about the reality?  From a personal point of view, drinking a mug of matcha tea every day for the past six months certainly contributed to me avoiding the many coughs, colds and flu viruses that did the rounds over the winter period.

And scientific research seems to go some way towards backing up the claims too…

• A study found that matcha tea contains 137 times more antioxidants than common green tea, and three times more than any other recorded green tea to date;
• Matcha is unique to other teas in that it contains abnormally high levels of L-theanine, which has been shown to improve brain function;
• Findings show that the combination of catechins, caffeine and theanine found in green tea, and in the highest concentrations in matcha, were responsible for a suppressive effect on body weight increase and weight loss;
• Another study shows that the green tea catechins found in matcha may reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases;
• Japanese research has found a correlation between regular matcha tea consumption and the maintenance of healthy blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

The above science-based evidence suggests it’s at least worth giving matcha tea a go as part of a healthy, balanced diet.  If you do decide to try matcha for yourself, I’d recommend going for a high quality, organic, ceremonial grade tea.  Warning – good quality matcha tea is not cheap.

I’ve tried a number of different brands and my top three so far are:

1. OMG matcha tea, which is available online from Planet Organic or, rumour has it, from Sow and Arrow due to open soon in Clevedon;
2. Kineta matcha tea, which is available to purchase from them direct online;
3. Vivid matcha tea, which is available from larger Tesco and Holland and Barrett stores or online. Note: as of the date of this posting,Tesco in Clevedon has Vivid matcha tea at the discounted price of £5.55. Bargain!

To close, here’s Belly who are playing SWX, Bristol on the 9th June…