Does matcha really live up to the hype?
Get the inside scoop on the health benefits of matcha, plus recipes to try at home.
Jan, 2026
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If you’ve scrolled through social media lately, you’ve likely seen countless images of a jade-colored substance called matcha. A powder derived from green tea leaves and traditionally used in Japanese tea ceremonies, its popularity has boomed in the United States in recent years. That's largely due to its supposed health benefits, such as lowering the risk of heart disease.
But is matcha really as good for you as some say? If so, how can you reap the perks?
Nutritionist Kelsey Tiller of Grand Strand Medical Center in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, talks us through everything you ever wanted to know about the trendy tea.
Written byOlivia DeLong.
Medically reviewed byAnn Wendling, MD, MPH.
Sources: Matcha Source. “How to Prepare Matcha Green Tea?” 2021. Accessed May 14 + 9
- Matcha Source. “How to Prepare Matcha Green Tea?” 2021. Accessed May 14, 2021.
- Breakaway Matcha. “How to Store Matcha.” 2021. Accessed May 14, 2021.
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. “Green Tea.” October 2020. Accessed May 14, 2021.
- Tod Cooperman. “Green Tea Review: Supplements, Brewable, Matcha, and Bottled.” ConsumerLab.com. September 29, 2020.
- National Cancer Institute. “Tea and Cancer Prevention.” November 17, 2010. Accessed May 14, 2021.
- Cochrane. “Green tea for the prevention of cancer.” March 2, 2020. Accessed May 14, 2021.
- Cochrane. “Green and black tea to prevent cardiovascular disease.” June 18, 2013. Accessed May 14, 2021.
- National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements. “Dietary Supplements for Weight Loss.” March 29, 2021. Accessed May 14, 2021.
- TM Jurgens, AM Whelan, et al. “Green tea for weight loss and weight maintenance in overweight or obese adults.” Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. December 12, 2012. Accessed May 14, 2021.
- Jian-Min Yuan. “Cancer prevention by green tea: evidence from epidemiologic studies.” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Volume 98, Issue 6, December 2013, Pages 1676S–1681S.
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