It's healthier than coffee, but is matcha worth the hype?
If you've been to a trendy cafe recently, or are plugged into food social media, you would know that matcha – a vibrant green drink made hot and cold from specially grown and processed powdered tea – is blowing up.
With a similar caffeine content to coffee depending on the quality and preparation, minus the jitteriness and energy slumps, it's no wonder that people are turning to matcha as an alternative pick-me-up.
But with prices higher on average than your usual cafe brew, is this drink worth the fuss?
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T Totaler founder Amber holding some freshly whisked matcha and the 'chasen' or whisk. Supplied
Amber, co-founder of the Sydney-based tea retailer T Totaler, thinks it is. When she started selling matcha in Sydney in 2012, barely anyone else in Australia was doing it.
According to her, the shift in consumer demand for matcha takeaway beverages and powder since the beginning of 2024 has been staggering.
"This year it's been tenfold," she says, referring to the company's store in Sydney's The Galeries.
It's a labour of love for Amber and co-founder and husband Paul, who hand pack and label each 90g bottle of matcha sold at the store and online.
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Customers waiting for their orders outside T Totaler in The Galeries, Sydney. Instagram
Matcha is made from 'tencha', the young leaves of the green tea plant camellia sinensis, which are steamed and ground with a Japanese stone mill, or 'ishi-usu', into a fine powder.
This powder is whisked with warm water (80 degrees Celsius) until frothy to release its flavours with a special bamboo whisk called a 'chasen'.
At T Totaler, each cup of matcha is whisked individually, which improves the texture and freshness of the resulting beverage.
Amber puts the drink's current popularity down to a broader desire to drink less coffee among ordinary people.
"I think there's been a shift," she says.
"People are still having coffee but they're realising having three or four is not good for them.
"I find our shop is a lot busier in the afternoons from 1:30 to 3:30 because I think people are replacing that second coffee with matcha, or a herbal [tea]."
According to a 2020 scientific paper, matcha has a range of health benefits.
It contains almost double the amount of vitamin C than other green teas, as well as antioxidants that prevent cell damage and strengthen cardiovascular function. It also has antidiabetic and anti-inflammatory properties.
"[Matcha] is a really good source of energy and it's longer lasting than coffee," adds Amber. "It's a slow release of energy."
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Matcha latte and matcha cookie from popular Sydney joint Cre Asion. Honey
But how much caffeine does matcha have, exactly? Well, it heavily depends on how it is processed and prepared.
According to the same paper, matcha has 19-44 mg of caffeine per gram, depending on the leaf itself and how long it is brewed. To put that into perspective, coffee has 10-12mg of caffeine per gram.
However, because of how much matcha is added to each serving, the average cup of matcha can contain anywhere between 38-176 mg of caffeine, compared to a cup of coffee, which typically contains 100mg.
So while matcha can certainly meet your caffeine needs, its appeal lies in the ability to limit one's caffeine intake, while absorbing those extra health benefits.
Paul, co-founder of T Totaler, standing in front of tea plants in Japan that will be made into matcha. Supplied
The other main factor driving matcha consumption is its virality on social media, Amber notes.
While traditionally consumed in Japan and China for centuries, the global matcha market has grown rapidly in the past few years, with North America expected to be the fastest-growing area in the next five years.
One example of matcha's online fame is the iced strawberry matcha that went viral earlier this year (and arguably still is).
When Amber launched a strawberry-matcha drink last year, she says "barely anyone came and tried it".
Multiple stores throughout the country now offer an iced strawberry matcha drink.
The amount of caffeine in matcha heavily depends on how it is processed and prepared. Instagram
"When I launched [the same drink] this year, we were getting something like 100 orders a day or more," she says.
9Honey averaged the cost of drinks at ten popular matcha spots on Australia's east coast, and found that the average hot matcha is around $6.60, while iced matcha tends to be more, at $8 on average.
For die-hard coffee fans, switching to matcha may be too much to ask, especially at those prices.
But as more cafes introduce matcha to their beverage offerings, and more specialty brewers open, it's clear its flavour, caffeine content, and health benefits mean this centuries-old drink is entering into the mainstream.
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