Is matcha actually healthy? Here's what the science says

With more than 14 million posts across Instagram and TikTok coming with the hashtag #matcha, the green drink has become as much a fashion statement as a refreshment in recent years.

It's become so popular that in 2025 there were concerns that global supplies were running out.

Its popularity – at least in part – is down to its supposed wellness benefits. But does this earthy, love-it-or-hate-it drink actually aid good health?

Matcha is made from shade-grown green tea leaves that have been ground into a powder. This means it shares a lot of the properties of regular green tea.

"Coffee and tea, including matcha, are both high in polyphenols," says Dr Emily Leeming, external, dietitian and microbiome scientist at King's College London.

"Polyphenols and a very small amount of fibre, external found in drinks like matcha and coffee may be good for your gut health, external because they feed the good bacteria."

While some small studies, external have found that matcha may help boost the diversity of friendly gut bacteria when you drink it every day, research on this specific drink is limited.

Talking of polyphenols, one type that's found in high quantities in matcha is catechins.

"Catechins have some potential antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity and there is some evidence that this may lower blood pressure and cholesterol, particularly in people with a higher risk profile," says Leeming.

This could be good news for those worried about their heart health, but dietitian and British Dietetic Association spokesperson Bahee Van de Bor, external offers a cheaper alternative.

"There's no reason you couldn't choose green tea instead, as there is a much larger body of evidence linking it with cardiovascular health than there is for matcha."

The reason matcha tea leaves are shaded is to make some of the plant's compounds more concentrated, external.

That, along with the fact you actually consume the leaves as opposed to just infuse them, there are potentially more nutritional properties than in regular green tea.

Among them, it's thought matcha includes a higher dose of the compound L-theanine, external.

"The combination of caffeine and L-theanine seem to balance each other out," says Prof Justin Roberts, external, professor of nutritional physiology at Anglia Ruskin University.

"So, you still get the stimulus effect of the caffeine but you also get the relaxing effect of L-theanine. This might explain why some people talk about feeling focused for longer when they drink matcha.

"There are also studies showing there might be positive effects on cognition, alertness and stress reduction," says Roberts.

However, everyone's response to caffeine is different. And how much caffeine you get from matcha depends on how much powder you use.

Van de Bor explains that there's around 35 to 70 milligrams of caffeine in a teaspoon or so (1–2g) of matcha.

A cup of coffee has around 80 to 100 milligrams of caffeine, meaning if you use a heaped teaspoon (roughly 4g) of matcha, you may get more caffeine than in a flat white.

"Many of the claims made about matcha are exaggerated by marketing," says Leeming. Be cautious, she says, when people describe it as a 'superfood' – as that's not a real thing.

And remember that many of the claims made about matcha come from research on general tea and coffee, or the beneficial compounds they all contain.

Some of the more ambitious health claims made about matcha (particularly online) relate to blood sugar control and insulin sensitivity, external.

Van de Bor says to be cautious of these claims as they mostly come from animal studies, with little research focusing on humans.

You'll often see the label 'ceremonial grade' on matcha packaging. This just means the powder's come from younger leaves which are less bitter.

Van de Bor suggests that you might want to consider buying organic matcha to reduce your exposure to pesticides and other impurities.

But, since matcha isn't cheap to begin with, she adds: "If you're drinking matcha because you've heard it's a superfood, then actually you might be better off investing your money on the rest of your diet and being mindful about hyper-focusing on single foods."

She also points out that drinking more isn't necessarily better for your health.

"Be mindful of green tea extracts – especially in supplement form – because these have been linked to rare cases of liver injury., external"

Supplements tend to have much higher amounts of green tea compared to matcha.

Ultimately, while matcha may come with some welcome health benefits, you can get plenty from other drinks too.

For instance, black tea and yerba mate tea have antioxidant properties too, while Leeming says cocoa is also densely packed with polyphenols and has a small amount of caffeine too.

So if you can't bear that earthy flavour or don't want to fork out the best part of a fiver for a cup, there's no need to feel like you're missing out.

Originally published May 2026.

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