Shaded gardening of Japanese matcha creates high-quality tea with unique compounds that can boost physical and mental health.
This study reviewed and compiled health benefits of matcha tea, a type of powdered green tea grown traditionally in Japan with plants shaded during growth. This shading process promotes the synthesis and accumulation of unique biologically active compounds, which includes theanine, caffeine, chlorophyll, and a variety of catechins, with matcha offering a condensed source of these elements. The review indicated that matcha is considered the highest quality tea due to its distinctive chemical composition and prized flavor.
In discussing the results, a major conclusion reached was that matcha tea has effective health-promoting attributes due to the tea's high content of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory substances. Such benefits have largely been credited to its significant proportion of catechins - a type of phenolic compound beneficial to human health. The high antioxidant potential of the tea and its subsequent ability to help prevent various diseases and support cognitive function underscores the value in regular consumption of matcha for not only physical health, but also mental health.
