Tag Archives: green tea

Is your Matcha real?

Posted on by

We constantly check new teas in our market.  One new “matcha” caught our attention because one of the buyers we deal with was “raving” about it.  She says, “Every time this company does a demo, this product sells so well because it’s cheap!”

 

So we decided to make a purchase and give it a taste test. 

 

Yes, it had a really good price for matcha:  $8.99 for 100g pouch.  Matcha is usually more expensive than any other type of green tea because it requires intensive labor to grow. 

 

We read every word on the label and still couldn’t find the reason why this matcha could be so cheap.  We opened the package and made a cup.  Even before we had a taste, we had a doubt about the quality of this matcha:  “Is this really matcha??!” 

 

Real matcha should have these two apparent characters:  1) bright green color and 2) creamy taste.  (There are also distinctive nutritional characteristics—please go to my website http://www.groundgreentea.com/index.php/content/matcha-and-sencha to see matcha nutrition.) 

 

But the color of this matcha was not bright green.  It was dark green, the color of sencha green tea powder.

 

We took a sip and the taste confirmed our first reaction.  The flavor was not creamy at all as matcha should be.  It was lightly “shibui”—that’s sencha’s characteristic flavor—English doesn’t have the word with perfect match, but it could be translated as tartness.

 

So, the buyer was right—the matcha was selling well because of the cheap price.  Our sample was most likely sencha, and is not organic and is imported from Shizuoka, Japan.  (Our staff said maybe that’s why the price is so cheap.)  We were terrified thinking of the possibility of what people are really paying for this ‘cheap’ matcha. 

 

As an owner of small tea company which started as a way to spread hope to people, I feel a strong objection about this mislabeled product.  But unfortunately in the tea industry, it’s a well known fact that this product is not the only product labeled as ‘matcha’ that is actually made with sencha tea leaves, in order to save cost.  As always, a price that is ‘too good to be true’ may not be a bargain.

 

So please be smart and learn more.  Know what you are paying for and be confident about your choice.

 

 

 

 

I’d love to summarize what matcha is, so you will be able to choose the best matcha for the price at your local store.

 

What is Matcha?

Matcha is green tea powder traditionally used for the Japanese tea ceremony.  Before they are ground into powder form, the tea leaves are called “Tencha.”   Tencha tea leaves are made from green tea plants, Camellia Sinensis, the same plant used to make the other green teas, such as Sencha and Gun Powder.  Tencha (matcha) is made from tea leaves grown in shade, Sencha and Gun Powder are made from tea leaves gown in full sun. 

 

If you would like to read now about the differences between matcha and sencha, please go to my website, http://www.groundgreentea.com/index.php/content/matcha-and-sencha

 

 

What does “shade grown” mean?

This environment with less sunlight gives the following effects in the tea leaves:

 

1) Tea leaves create more chlorophyll to obtain more energy from less sun light.  Chlorophyll makes energy from the process of photosynthesis.  Also Chlorophyll is a pigment, so tea leaves have a brighter green color.

 

2) Sunlight converts L-theanine in tea leaves to Catechins, green tea’s phenomenal antioxidants.  Less sunlight converts less L-theanine and produces fewer Catechins.  So the tea leaves grown in shade have more L-theanine and less Catechins than tea leaves grown in full sun.      

 

3) Studies show that the less sunlight, the more caffeine.  Tea leaves grown in shade have more Caffeine than tea leaves grown in full sun.

 

These characteristics from matcha are also found in young tea leaves—because young tea leaves have been exposed to less sun light than more mature leaves.

 

Matcha history

During the 16th century in Japan, the tea ceremony, “the way of tea,” was established and became popular among the privileged class, such as Zen monks and Samurai warriors.  The host and guests valued harmonious tranquility derived from refined simplicity.  This sense of beauty is called “Wabi, Sabi” in the Japanese language.  Matcha provided a feeling of restrained beauty, or ‘calm alertness.”  Modern science has revealed the calm alertness they enjoyed comes from a good balance of caffeine and L-theanine in matcha.  Many studies show that majority of the nutrition, including antioxidants, stay in tea leaves after steep tea leaves and that ‘consuming entire tea leaves’ is far more beneficial than drinking steeped teas.  Many doctors, including Dr. Oz and Dr. Weil, recommend matcha as a way to consume entire tea leaves, rather than drinking steeped teas.

 

Matcha nutrition

Consuming the entire tea leaf is the best way to get powerful green tea health.  However, since matcha is grown in shade, matcha contains more caffeine and more L-theanine than the other types of green tea as explained above.  The caffeine content depends on the size of the serving but typically one serving has about 25% more caffeine than black tea, and about two-thirds the same amount of caffeine as from a standard cup of coffee. 

 

So, if you want more caffeine but would like to achieve the “calm alertness” of a modern warrior, rather than the “jitters” caused by other strong caffeine drinks, matcha is a great choice for you.

 

Please note that matcha has more Vitamin A and Chlorophyll than other green teas as a result of its effort for a more efficient photosynthesis process in reduced sunlight. 

 

Please go to http://www.groundgreentea.com/index.php/content/matcha-and-sencha for more detailed information.

    

 

Green Tea with Whey for post exercise drink

Posted on by

Gain muscles to lose weight

 

“Lose weight” is on the wish list for a lot of people, and a lot of people decide to “eat less” and “do more exercise” to lose weight. 

 

Probably many of you know muscles burn more calories than fat, because fat requires less energy to maintain.  That’s why metabolism declines as we lose muscles.  On top of that, fat cells secrete hormones to hamper or alter healthy body chemical activities. Thus, maintaining or restoring muscle mass would be a great way to maintain higher metabolic rate and prevent various diseases caused by our modern life style.

 

 

Muscle loss after 40

 

The typical image for “building muscles” is “humongous muscles of body builders”, and not always well-accepted especially for women.  However, a conscious effort to build muscle is actually critical, especially for people older than 40, because muscle loss outpaces muscle gain as you age.  “As a rule, muscle mass declines with age, starting in the 40s and picking up speed after about age 50.”*1  This is called “sarcopenia”, age-related decline in muscle mass and function.

 

“Insufficient protein, especially if it’s accompanied by insufficient calories in general, can contribute to sarcopenia”, says Douglas Paddon-Jones, director of exercise studies for the General Clinical Research Center at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.*1  So if you don’t eat to lose weight, you may be merely turning the withered muscles into fat.  With the same volume, fat weighs less than muscles so you may have a disguised “good” result momentarily by not eating.  

 

 

Exercise and protein to rebuild muscles

 

Exercise, obviously, is a good way to counter muscle loss.  I learned muscles are the organs which metabolize faster.  That means, constantly muscle cells die and constantly new muscle cells are created.  However, the new muscle cells don’t function as muscle until they grow into real muscle.  Without exercise and nutrition, the new muscle cells become fat. 

 

Resistance exercise improves muscle protein balance, but, in the absence of food intake, the balance remains negative (catabolic or break down). Protein availability is important to rebuild muscles (anabolic) and the anabolic result is greater than when dietary amino acids (protein) are not present.*2 

 

 

Green tea to increase metabolism

 

One of the health benefits from green tea antioxidants, Catechins, is to increase metabolism.  Drinking green tea before and after exercise is a great way to ensure the positive effects from exercise.   Also it replenishes antioxidants in your body. While you exercise, your body generates more free radicals and your body needs fresh antioxidants to neutralize them.  Milk also is a great “sport drink” which provides nutrition that the body needs to recover from “trauma” of exercise.  Green tea antioxidants and milk protein thus make a great “post workout sport drink”. 

 

 

Milk extends green tea effects

 

Some of you may remember Casein, a kind of milk protein, was believed to negate Catechins’ antioxidant activities.  After many studies on this subject, scientists found that Catechins are just released more slowly when consumed with milk protein and actually extend the effects of the green tea antioxidant activities. As a result, the effect of catechin lasted from 4 to 8 hrs after the green tea was consumed with milk proteins, while the effect lasted only 4 hrs after green tea alone was consumed.  *3 

 

 

Whey and green tea: more beneficial than Casein and green tea

 

Casein is 80% of milk protein and the rest is Whey, and scientists even found green tea effects lasts longer with Whey than with Casein.  Whey also has shown many health benefits according to scientific studies.  *3

 

 

Great post exercise sport drink:  green tea with whey

 

The combination of green tea and milk may be a great sport drink to fight muscle loss and burn more fat.  Whey products are popular and available even at grocery stores so why not whip up green tea smoothie with milk and/or Whey?  “Cheers for another great year!”

 

 

*1  http://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/on-fitness/2008/09/04/how-to-avoid-losing-muscle-as-you-age  How to Avoid Losing Muscle as You Age  By KATHERINE HOBSON  September 4, 2008

 

*2 Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2001 Mar;11(1):109-32.Exercise, protein metabolism, and muscle growth. Tipton KD, Wolfe RR.Source  Metabolism Division, Department of Surgery, University of Texas Medial Branch-Galveston, Galveston, TX 77550-2720, USA.

 

*3 “Study on prevention of modern chronic diseases with effective usage of skim milk” Prof. Masaaki Yoshikawa, et al.  (in Japanese) page 60 to page 65,  http://www.j-milk.jp/publicities/8d863s000006uqta-att/8d863s000006uqvm.pdf

 

Who is in charge of our “acquired taste”?

Posted on by

Mark Twain said, “The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don’t want, drink what you don’t like, and do what you’d druther not.”

It seems now green tea has gained the reputation as one of the top on the healthy food list. However, it is true a lot of people were “afraid” of green tea 7 years ago, when tea companies began to put more money and effort into the green tea market in the U.S.

That’s when I started this Sei Mee Tea company. I was full of righteousness—“Now I can talk to people about the truth of green tea!” Green tea was hope for me and my husband, and I was eager to spread the hope.

However, I was shocked to see that some people actually, physically, jumped away from the green tea I presented. If I had offered them a smoked lizard or spider, they would have reacted the same way. Although a few people described the deep green color of our green tea as “beautiful,” most looked at me innocently and asked, “Are you sure you drink this?”

“It is an acquired taste, isn’t it?” They said in a kind of apologetic way. Some people cheerfully said, “Oh, I love green tea! I drink bottled green tea everyday! Let me taste it!” They sipped our tea, then they murmured, “It doesn’t have much flavor.”

I had to think about “what is an acquired taste?” “Why they don’t taste the flavor of this tea??” I asked myself.

You would not believe me if I told you brownies were an “acquired taste” for me when I came to the U.S. from Japan 17 years ago…but it is true. It’s not the chocolate flavor—it’s the powerful sweetness that made me nauseated. (I have to admit my taste buds are tuned for brownies after all these years… :-) )

Sweet bottled “green tea”, sports drinks, etc. are promoted as “healthy.” As far as I am concerned, the bottled green tea and Gatorade are in the same category as Coke. It seems the flavors of drinks and foods manufactured by mega food industries are in charge of shaping our “acquired tastes” here in the U.S…. I don’t want my taste buds manipulated by them—how’bout you?

We are doing an interesting test on bottled green tea, sports drink, water, etc. I’ll talk about it in my next blog.