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Nutrients in matcha and healthy matcha intake

Before we reveal the answer, let’s take a quick look at the nutrients in matcha.
100 grams of matcha contains the following nutrients:

“Energy 324 kcal, Water 5 g, Protein 29.6 g, Protein from amino acids 22.6 g, Fat 5.3 g, 0.68 g, Triglycerides 3.3 g, Saturated fatty acids 0.68 g, Monounsaturated fatty acids 0.34 g, Polyunsaturated fatty acids 2.16 g, Cholesterol 0 g, Carbohydrates 39.5 g, Usable carbohydrates 1.6 g, Soluble fiber 6.6 g, Insoluble fiber 31.9 g, Total fiber 38.5 g, Ash content (inorganic food fraction) 7.4 g, Sodium 6 mg, Potassium 2700 mg, Calcium 420 mg, Magnesium 230 mg, Phosphorus 350 mg, Iron 17.0 mg, Zinc 6.3 mg, Copper 0.6 mg, Vitamin A beta-carotene 29000 mcg, Vitamin A1 2400 mcg, Vitamin E tocopherol 28.1 mg, Vitamin K 2900 mcg, Vitamin B1 0.6 mcg, Vitamin B2 1.35 mg, Niacin 4.0 mg, Vitamin B6 0.96 mg, Folic acid 1200 mg, Pantothenic acid 3.7 mcg, Vitamin C 60 mg, Caffeine 3.2 g, Tannin 10.0 g.”

Sorry for the length. Just read through it.
This information is translated from the Standard Nutrient List for Consumer Products, 7th Edition, 2015 (latest edition), produced by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan. It is reliable and can be used as a reference.
Judging from this information, matcha is incredibly nutritious. Consuming a whole 100-gram jar shouldn’t be a problem, right? However, there’s one substance we should be especially wary of: caffeine.

100 grams of matcha contains 3.2 grams of caffeine, which means that 1 gram of matcha contains 32 milligrams of caffeine. For example, if you use a matcha tea with hot water, which normally uses a maximum of 2 grams, your body will receive 64 milligrams of caffeine.
So, how much caffeine should you be getting?
There is currently no established ADI (Acceptable Daily Intake) for caffeine. According to the recommendations of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the appropriate daily intake of caffeine varies by age and body weight as shown in the table below.

Age range Appropriate daily amount Recommended amount of matcha Simple summary
75 years and older 22-417mg 0.69-13.03g Up to 2 tablespoons 1 teaspoon
65-75 years old 23-362mg 0.72-11.31g Up to 2 tablespoons, half a teaspoon
18-64 years old 37-319mg 1.16-9.97g Up to 2 tablespoons
10-18 years old 0.4-1.4mg/body weight (kg) 0.01-0.0437gx body weight (kg) –
3-10 years 0.2-2.0mg/body weight (kg) 0.006-0.0625gx body weight (kg) –
12-36 months 0-2.1mg/body weight (kg) 0.006-0.03125gx body weight (kg) –
pregnant women 200 mg per day 6.25 g per day Up to 1 tablespoon, half a teaspoon

According to the table above, for ages 12 months to 18 years, readers should calculate for themselves. Those who don’t have a measuring device may find it difficult, so I tried to see if I could change it to teaspoons, which everyone should be familiar with.

If you look at the picture below with the blue spoon, that’s a measuring spoon. 1 teaspoon of matcha is about 2.2-2.4 grams. As for the cover image, it’s measured from a measuring spoon. 1 teaspoon gives about 4.9-5.1 grams of matcha. These measuring spoons are easy to find. Try estimating them.

Caffeine intake is still a subject of research, and different organizations have come to different conclusions. For example, the New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) says that healthy adults can consume up to 400 mg of caffeine per day (about two tablespoons and a little over a teaspoon of matcha). As new research becomes available, this number is likely to change, but if you’re going to believe Europe, the numbers in this table should give you a good idea.

What effects will the body have if it consumes caffeine?

There are so many studies on the benefits and harms of caffeine, and so many cases, that it’s hard to easily determine which type of person it affects. However, the Food Safety Commission of Japan (FSC), established by the Prime Minister’s Office, has compiled the following information about caffeine:

Taken in appropriate amounts: It stimulates the nervous system, relieves drowsiness, and relieves alcohol intoxication (be careful not to drink too much alcohol).

Received in excessive amounts:

  1. Central nervous system stimulation: dizziness, increased pulse, anxiety, tremors, insomnia.
  2. Stimulates the digestive tract: Stimulates diarrhea and nausea.
  3. diuretic

The World Health Organization also states that during pregnancy, the body clears caffeine from the bloodstream more slowly. Several studies have shown that consuming too much caffeine (the WHO figure is 300 mg per day – almost 2 tablespoons of matcha) can lead to delayed fetal development, lower birth weight, premature birth, and stillbirth. Therefore, it is recommended to limit caffeine intake to a reasonable level.

The Japan Beverage Industry Association also recommends against consuming caffeinated beverages while using pharmaceuticals containing caffeine.

No matter how nutritious a food is, consuming too much of it is not good. This applies even to matcha. Some people brew matcha in the traditional way (1.7-2.0 grams) and are hesitant to consume too much. I hope that after reading this article, everyone will be able to enjoy matcha with more peace of mind.

https://chakatsu.com/basic/caffeine_matcha/

Article from: Vachi

The little things that make the tea taste inconsistent

Whenever I go to a tea or coffee shop, I can’t help but order a cup of matcha milk. Every time I pass by, I have to have one. When I drink it more often, I start to notice that the tea aroma and taste fluctuate. Sometimes it’s fragrant, sometimes it’s astringent. But it’s not exactly the same tea. What do you think is causing this? Of course, the staff who makes the tea also plays a part. If they don’t measure it well and estimate the temperature accurately, the taste won’t be the same. Why?

Where is matcha?

Let’s go find matcha first. Where is your matcha? The most popular bedroom might be the kitchen. It’s good for cooking and making tea, right? In fact, this room is forbidden for any tea at all. Because in addition to the kitchen being hot from the stove, there are also smells and smoke that can easily stick to the tea. In addition, there is high humidity. Heat and humidity shorten the shelf life, fade color, and tea will deteriorate quickly in the kitchen.

Some people who have beverage shops may put it right on the counter , making it easy to grab, right? If you can use up all the matcha in a short period of time, putting it here is not a problem. However, if you have a lot of matcha left in stock, it is recommended to store it in the refrigerator, especially if the counter is near a door or window. Both rain and sun will affect it.

At this point, the refrigerator is probably the answer for many people. Some people even put it in the freezer. It is true that the refrigerator can help extend the life of matcha much longer than outside. However, there are two things to be careful about when using the refrigerator: 1. A refrigerator that smells so bad that the smell sticks to the tea. 2. Moisture that sticks when you take it out of the refrigerator, causing the quality to deteriorate even faster than if you left it outside. The solution is to put it in a ziplock bag tightly and leave it to cool before using it. After half a day, you should be fine.

What do you use to store matcha?

The container or bag that is stored may not be important. As long as it does not smell of metal, plastic or other smells, it is considered usable. It goes without saying that it must be tightly sealed . However, there is one type of container that can make tea worse unexpectedly, which is a clear container. Some people intentionally use this type of container to show the color of the matcha, show the ingredients in the shop or just for the person making it to see easily. But a clear container allows the light to shine directly on the tea, causing the tea to fade in color and produce strange smells. In fact, many tea shops choose to put it in a clear container. Some even open the lid to show it. In this case, it is not because the room is already dark, it means that the tea is not very good, or they are confident that they will finish it that day.

Another thing that most people may not realize is the size of the jar . Putting matcha in a large jar means that every time you open the lid and scoop out a large amount of matcha, the tea is exposed to air. The aroma of the tea will quickly disappear with repeated exposure to air. Dividing it up into small jars that can be used up in a few days is a way to prevent a large amount of tea from being wasted in the air.

Tea container

Containers used to serve tea

Deep down, the container is what ultimately determines the way of drinking, or how the drinker feels. Taste is not just about the tea itself, but also about thoughts and feelings. The simplest example is design. Design determines the concept of the menu. If you want a luxurious atmosphere and slowly and delicately savor the taste, you may use luxurious and delicate containers. Or if you want simplicity and easy drinking, the appearance of the glass must be different. This matter may seem different from taste, abstract, but in fact, if you think about it, you will find that there are more concrete reasons than just floating feelings in your head.

Straws or glasses? Using straws is easy and convenient in terms of portability and eliminates the concern of not cleaning your glass properly. However, using straws limits the amount of water you can take into your mouth, similar to a hose trying to fill a swimming pool. It lacks the satisfaction of sipping a full mouthful of water. Drinking from a glass, on the other hand, offers much more flexibility and creates less waste.

Glass with a thin rim vs. glass with a thick rim. Glass with a thin rim makes the water flow straighter than a thick rim, making the sensation in the mouth clearer. Suitable for testing tastes or when wanting to show the complexity of flavors. Meanwhile, a thick rim makes the water flow slowly along the rim, which is one reason why water spills when poured into another container. But the advantage is that the sensation is softer than the first type. If you want to emphasize the softness of milk or milk foam, this type might be better.

Thin and thick. Mostly, the thickness of the container is the same as the rim, but not always. So I separated them. Thin containers are incredibly light (and if they are thin ceramics, they are usually expensive). They look luxurious and delicate, and feel good when held. The disadvantage is that they do not retain temperature very well. Served hot, they cool down, and served cold, they cool down in a short time. On the contrary, thick containers retain heat and cold very well, but you have to be careful when using them. When hot tea is poured in, if you do not warm the glass first, the tea will be pulled down by the cold thick glass until it does not match the heat you want to serve. The same goes for cold drinks. They should be cooled down if possible. The same principle applies to beer glasses in a pub.

The size of the mouth of the glass or the size of the glass determines how much water will enter the mouth in each sip. Some menus that you want people to drink slowly should use a small mouth glass to prevent drinking too quickly. But if you want to drink to be refreshed, you should use a large mouth glass to drink a lot.

Flared or straight glass mouth with an inward curve. A flared glass mouth allows water to flow into the mouth without having to tilt the glass much, which is better than the general straight or inward curve. The inward curve retains heat well and prevents all smells from escaping.

Materials include terracotta, ceramic tiles, plastic, and metal. No matter what, the feeling when touched is different. There are many different designs, shapes, and surfaces. It really depends on the concept of the menu.

All of these are just basic ideas for managing tea. In reality, there is still a lot of room for new ideas to be applied. These are not ironclad rules that need to be kept, but rather basics that can be built upon. I hope everyone will have more ideas from this article.

Article from: Vachi