Matcha, Grüntee-Pulver (bio)

Usucha (Light Matcha) Although light tea requires an artistry of fine manners and various tools, you can enjoy casually even in everyday circumstances. A point to remember is that matcha must be strained in advance using a tea strainer. This helps to prevent the tea from lumping up. The per-person serving amount of matcha is 2 scoops, after placing in the cup, pour about 80ml of hot water and mix quickly with a tea whisk until fine bubbles appear.

When tea leaves absorb the moisture, it can cause a deterioration. Also when tea leaves are placed in the environment of high temperature, deterioration will start right away. Once you open the package, try to use them up within 1 month. Keep the tea leaves in the small (less than 100g) jar or can. Keep tea away from the heat or steam and avoid direct sun. How about keeping them in the refrigerator or freezer? There are several things to be careful about when you keep the leaves in the refrigerator or freezer. First of all, since tea has its characteristic of absorbing other smell easily, it is important to keep them in the plastic bag and seal them tight. Secondly, when you take out the package out from the refrigerator, wait until the tea leaves are back to the room temperature before opening the plastic bag. Because of the sudden temperature change, the moisture may occur inside the bag. For you purchased a tea contains a lot of amount tea inside, do not remove them from the package, and cover the whole package with a big plastic bag. If the package is a transparent kind, remove the package, and transform them to the can or jar, and avoid direct sun or the lights. It is also recommended to ask the seller for the tips on the best way to store the leaves. And always remember to keep leaves a way from the heat, smell, light, and humidity.

Once the water gets discarded and the tea bowl dried with a cloth, the matcha powder is placed in the bowl. Here come the differences in the preparation. For koicha the ratio of tea to water is much higher: 3 scoop of matcha are used for each guest (that is about 2 grams of tea), while only 30 to 40 ml of water are enough. The way of using the chasen is also quite different. While for usuacha the tea is usually whisked, for koicha the gesture is slower: it is more a gentle mixing of the paste and in Japanese the term used for it would be kneading, instead of whisking. Practically, it is made by drawing two horizontal and two vertical lines inside the bowl (as if drawing a board for tic tac toe at the bottom of the bowl) until all the powder is well mixed with the water. The result is a shiny dark green tea of a syrupy consistency and the taste is very intense.

Matcha: When tea plants receive less sunlight, tea leaves produce a higher amount of chlorophyl and keep more of one particular amino acid, called theanine. When theanine is exposed to the sun, it turns into catechins – which are important antioxidants, but also have a bitter and astringent taste. Instead, theanine is sweet, vegetal, umami: and this is what gives matcha its characteristic flavour profile. The plants are covered for 4 weeks before harvest. In the old days, the coverings were made entirely with natural materials, using a structure of bamboo, covered with dry reeds and straw. Nowadays, this is very rare to see; and metal structures with synthetic fabrics are used more often.

After being plucked, the tea leaves are very shortly steamed to stop the oxidation (the same way as in sencha production, but for a shorter amount of time). From here, the process changes compared to other green teas – there is no rolling. After steaming, the leaves are directly dried in a few different steps. First the leaves go through vertical nets with the air blown from underneath. This helps to reduce the surface moisture gained from steaming. The leaves then go through special furnaces that dry them completely with just about 5% moisture remaining inside. Following that, the leaves are sorted: stems and veins of the leaves are removed, the rest is cut in small pieces. This is done so that later tea leaves can be easily ground to matcha powder. The final step of processing is one last drying. After this process, the tea that we now have is called Tencha (碾茶). 

Then what is matcha? Matcha is essentially the tencha only once it is ground to powder – only then can it be called matcha. How is this done? Until about 1900s, it was only tencha material that was being sold: every person would grind the leaves into matcha themselves, just before drinking the tea. With time – and electricity – stone mills got mechanized, and just before WWII matcha started to be sold in its powdered form in Uji region. A matcha mill has usually a diameter of around 30 cm and can grind about 40 grams of tea per hour. This is because the speed must be constant and not too fast, otherwise the tea could be spoilt. At this slower speed the mill warms up but not too much: around 50ºC, right enough to “finish” the flavour of the tea with the little heat. The particles of the powder must be very fine.   

How to prepare matcha 

TABLE 1 Odor qualities and odor thresholds (OTs) in water of odorants in green tea, oolong tea, and black tea

DOI: 10.1111/1541-4337.12999

Figure 1 Catechins. Figure 2 Flavonoids. sugar chain consists of monosaccharides, such as glucose, galactose, rhamnose, arabinose, etc., and disaccharides or trisaccharides. Figure 3. Chemical structures of anthocyanins. gallic acid, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, ellagic acid, quinic acid, and tea gallate. Figure 5. caffeine, theophylline, theobromine. Figure 7. Chemical structures of aromatic ingredients isolated from green tea. Figure 8. Chemical structures of organic acids isolated from green tea.

DOI: 10.3390/molecules27123909

Matcha has a relatively high caffeine content compared to other green teas, which gives it a unique aroma and flavour [29]. The content of caffeine in green teas was found to fall within the range of 11.3–24.67 mg/g [32], while in matcha it amounted to between 18.9 and 44.4 mg/g [27]. For the sake of comparison, most coffee beans will contain 10.0–12.0 mg caffeine/g of beans 

ferulic acid—289 μg/g

According to Jakubczyk et al., [36] matcha green tea has an exceptionally high rutin content, compared to other teas available in the market. The authors contrasted the level of rutin found in matcha (1968.8 mg/L) with that in buckwheat (62.30 mg/100 g), the latter being recognised as one of the richest sources of rutin in the human diet, and demonstrated that matcha tea may be a better source of the compound than other foodstuffs. 

The content of quercetin in the aqueous extract of matcha was measured by Schröder et al. [6] at 1.2 mg/mL, which is marginally higher than in traditional green tea (1.1 mg/mL). 

32.12 to 44.8 mg/L of vitamin C

Theanine is an amino acid found in the tea plant Camellia sinensis. Due to the shade-growing of plants intended for matcha production, theanine does not break down. As a result, Tencha leaves contain larger amounts of it compared to other teas

The combination of l-theanine and caffeine may enhance concentration, vigilance and efficiency to a higher extent than the use of either compound alone [51], additionally alleviating stress [49].

DOI: 10.3390/molecules26010085

The present meta-analysis suggests that green tea and its catechins may improve blood pressure, and the effect may be greater in those with systolic blood pressure ≥ 130 mm Hg. The meta-analysis also suggests that green tea catechins may improve total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.

DOI: 10.1007/s00394-014-0720-1

sufficient shading prior to harvesting significantly increases the contents of theanine and chlorophyll in the tea leaves.  The health promoting benefits of matcha are mainly contributed by its micro-nutrients and the antioxidative phytochemicals, specifically epigallocatechin-gallate, theanine and caffeine. Matcha has a similar composition profile as general green tea, in terms of phenolic acids, flavanols, amino acids, and caffeine, but the amount of these components is much higher in matcha.

Matcha is well-known for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties mainly contributed by epigallocatechin-gallate (EGCG) (Ahmed & Stepp, 2013). In addition, caffeine and theanine are also present as the major components that promote relaxation

Green tea can be categorized into Chinese green tea and Japanese green tea, and matcha is the unfermented and finely ground Japanese green tea powder (Koláčková et al., 2020). In other words, matcha is a subset of green tea. 

DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2023.113007

Matcha decreases stress and anxiety, improves memory and short- and long-term cognitive function in humans, while having no effect on mood.

To date, randomized clinical trials (RCT) showed that matcha decreases stress, slightly enhances attention and memory, and has no effect on mood. Results regarding the effect of matcha on cognitive function are contradictory and more RCTs are warranted. The cardio-metabolic effects of matcha have only been studied in animals, but findings were more homogenous. Consuming matcha with a high-fat diet resulted in decreased weight gain velocity, food intake, improved serum glucose and lipid profile, reduced inflammatory cytokines and ameliorated oxidative stress. Evidence regarding the anti-tumor function of matcha is very limited. Findings showed that matcha can affect proliferation, viability, antioxidant response, and cell cycle regulation of breast cancer cells.

Similarly, theanine (Yoneda et al., 2019), caffeine (Fredholm et al., 1999, Smit and Rogers, 2000) and catechins (Baba et al., 2021a) were found to have an enhancing effect on cognitive function.

The health benefits associated with Japanese green tea have been linked to its content of natural antioxidants (Kurleto et al., 2013), such as polyphenols: various compounds that account for as much as 30% of matcha tea's dry weight (Mandel et al., 2005; Komes et al., 2010). Polyphenols are powerful antioxidants, almost as effective as vitamins like vitamin C, vitamin E, carotene, and tocopherol. In matcha, catechins make up 90% of these polyphenols (Tachibana 2009). The main four types of catechins are (−)-epicatechin (EC), (−)-epicatechin-3-gallate (ECG), (−)-epigallocatechin (EGC) and (−)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), where EGCG is the most abundant and active

DOI: 10.1016/j.crfs.2022.11.015

EGCG is the most abundant and active catechin and it is usually used as a quality indicator

Zimmermann and Gleichenhagen (2011) reported that steeping time and temperature of green tea infusion influenced the ingested amount of catechins. Tea leave infusion at 100 °C for 7 min resulted in three fold increase of flavanols than that at 70 °C for 3 min. Addition of lemon juice before infusion to get pH 3.0 increased 20% of EGCG. They suggested that to get the maximum amount of catechins during brewing, it was necessary to use boiling water, increase steeping time and add ingredients to reduce the pH. Heat treatment is the main cause for the degradation of tea catechins during the processing of tea leaves, tea drinks and bakery products. The level of degradations during food processing varies and depends on the initial concentration of tea catechins and other ingredients, pH of the system and processing temperature and duration.

Pasteurization at 85 °C reduced EGCG and EGC by 2% and 0.85%, respectively, compared to the heating process at 120 °C which reduced them by 40.22% and 16.67%, respectively. Considering that increasing temperature tended to reduce the total amount of catechins, it was concluded that oxidation occurred during heating besides the epimerization.

Friedman et al. (2009) observed that EGCG decreased by 28% in the tea leaves during storage for 6 months at 20 °C, while ECG reduced by 51%. ECG might be more susceptible to degradation than EGCG because EGCG was more abundant than ECG in the tea leaves. The overall loss of total catechin concentration was 32%. The degradation of EGCG was due to the effect of oxidation process because there was no increase in GCG concurrently with the EGCG reduction

DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2011.03.004

Moreover, green tea significantly inhibited OATP1A2-mediated nadolol uptake (half-maximal inhibitory concentration, IC₅₀ = 1.36%).  These results suggest that green tea reduces plasma concentrations of nadolol possibly in part by inhibition of OATP1A2-mediated uptake of nadolol in the intestine.

DOI: 10.1038/clpt.2013.241

Traditional herbal medicinal product for relief of fatigue and sensation of weakness

Overdose (quantities corresponding to more than 300 mg caffeine or 5 cups of tea as a beverage) can lead to restlessness, tremor, and elevated reflex excitability. The first signs of poisoning are vomiting and abdominal spasm

a) Herbal tea 1.8 – 2.2 g of whole or comminuted herbal substance in 100 – 150 ml of boiling water as a herbal infusion, 3 – 5 times daily. b) powdered herbal substance Single dose: 390 mg, 3 times daily (up to 5 times if necessary) The use in children and adolescents under 18 years of age is not recommended (see section 4.4 ‘Special warnings and precautions for use’.

The use in children and adolescents under 18 years of age has not been established due to lack of adequate data In the absence of sufficient data, the use during pregnancy and lactation is not recommended. Not recommended before bedtime as it may cause sleep disturbances

Contraindications: Hypersensitivity to the active substance(s). Gastric and duodenal ulcers, cardiovascular disorders such as hypertension and arrhythmia, hyperthyroidism.

They observed that EGCG promoted the formation of 8-oxide, a characteristic oxidative damage to DNA that is strongly associated with mutations and cancer [128]. Therefore, they came to the conclusion that that this oxidative damage to EGCG could be considered as a potential predisposing factor for EGCG carcinogenicity [129]. One study showed that EGCG (20, 40 and 80 μM, 10, 60, and 240 min) caused DNA damage in both human lymphocytes and Nalm6 cells in a dose-dependent manner. When the maximum dose of EGCG was 100 μM, the survival rate of Nalm6 and human lymphocyte decreased by 50% and 25%, respectively

DOI: 10.3390/molecules27123909

 The in vitro spiking of a pooled plasma sample showed that a plasma polyphenol concentration of 7.5 μmol/L was necessary to cause an increase in the antioxidant activity. The mean maximal plasma concentration of total flavanols was ≈1.2 μmol/L. 

DOI: 10.1093/ajcn/80.6.1558

The results showed that the carbon emission intensity of green tea for its entire life cycle was 32.90 kg CO₂eq kg⁻¹ dry tea, and the carbon emission intensities of its consumption, processing, and cultivation were 14.90, 7.94, and 6.97 kg CO₂eq kg⁻¹, respectively. In the processing stage, emissions during steaming and drying accounted for 57%. The use of coal, complicated processing procedures, and older equipment were the main reasons for the high emissions in the processing stage. In the cultivation process, emissions mainly came from fertilizer production and its application in the field. The energy consumption of boiling water resulted in high carbon emissions in the consumption stage.

DOI: 10.3390/agronomy13020364

The water footprint of coffee (130 l cup−1 , based on use of 7 gram of roasted coffee per cup) is much larger than the water footprint of tea (27 l cup−1 , based on use of 3 gram of black tea per cup)

Green and black tea: green: 7232, blue: 898, grey:726, total: 8856

DOI: 10.5194/hess-15-1577-2011

Deep green color, umami taste, and low bitter and astringent taste are preferred traits of matcha, which means fresh tea leaves should contain high contents of chlorophylls and amino acids but low contents of phenolics and caffeine. High production yield, uniform growth, early sprouting, high tenderness-keeping ability, and suitability for mechanical plucking are also important indices of tea cultivar breeding for matcha. In addition, the sensitivity of tea cultivars to shading treatment is particularly demanded the production of matcha. Specifically, the contents of chlorophylls and amino acids in tea leaves are largely increased after shading, while the contents of bitter and astringent compounds like flavonoids are reduced.

To produce premium matcha, tea plants are shaded by 60–98% for 2–3weeks before harvest, and black shade net with shade percentage of 95% is commonly used. There are three ways to cover tea plants, including direct cover on the surface of tea plants, low tunnel cover and shed cover

As tea leaves are protected from direct sunlight, the accumulation of flavonoids (e.g. catechins, flavonol glycosides, and proanthocyanins) is attenuated, resulting in the decline of flavonoids, especially flavonol glycoside 

On the contrary, the contents of total free amino acids, especially theanine, are increased

For the tea plantation put into production, N-containing base fertilizer (180–495 kg/hectare based on N content) should be applied annually at the end of September or at the beginning of October. Chemical fertilizer like urea can be applied around 30 days before spring harvest, according to the dosage of 150–225 kg/hectare based on N content.

Fertilization is an important factor to maintain productivity and fresh leaf quality for matcha production. Heavy fertilization should be applied due to strong plucking intensity, shading-induced suppression on photosynthesis, and maintenance of the tenderness of tea shoot. . Nitrogen can regulate the growth of tea plants by accelerating plant growth and increasing the contents of amino acids

grinding tencha into matcha powder (Fining process). After harvesting, the fresh tea leaves are spread, cut, and submitted to steaming fixation (roughly Then, the tea leaves are partially dried (oven drying) and crushed for easy sorting/de-stemming. After second drying and blending, tencha is produced (Figure 2). Tencha is the dry and striped tea leaves produced from shading-treated fresh tea leaves, which is the commercial raw material for the following fining process of matcha. Milling is the key step in the production process of matcha, which grinds tea leaves into fine and smooth powder.

Superfine grinding technology causes the breakage of materials by mechanical force to produce a powdered sample with smaller particle size, narrower distribution and better food processing properties, compared with routine grinding (Chen et  al. 2018; Meng et  al. 2018). The grinding method of tea leaves mainly includes electric stone milling, ball milling, and jet milling, among which ball milling is widely used in China

Electric stone milling combines modern technology with traditional grinding technology, which produces plant powders with particle size of 15–20µm (Sawamura et al. 2010). For ball milling, balls, and tea leaves are placed in an airtight container. Grinding and striking occur between balls and tea leaves when the container rotates, resulting in the production of high-quality powder with particle size of 10–20 μm (Wang et al. 2020). Jet milling is a high-speed airflow pulverization to reduce the size of raw material below 10 μm through compressed air-driven high-speed collisions between the particles and against the surface of milling chamber (Gao et al. 2020). Therefore, temperature hardly rises within the chamber of jet milling, which makes this technique suitable for thermosensitive raw materials.

igure 3. The major types of matcha-containing food products and functions of matcha.

DOI: 10.1080/10408398.2023.2194419

Powdered Japanese tea; mostly produced in the Uji region; cultivated primarily in the shade; commonly used in Japanese tea ceremony

Green tea is sourced from Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze (Theaceae), the same species from which white, oolong, black and pu-erh teas are derived

China is the center of origin of green tea production.

The tea plant naturally grows in the understory of broad-leaved evergreen forests at altitudes between 100e2,200 m. The native tea growing area, or ‘tea belt’, encompasses southwestern China (Yunnan, Sichuan, Guangxi and Guizhou provinces), northern Laos, northern Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia and northeastern India. Some forest-growing tea plants are also found outside of the tea belt in eastern China, Japan, southern Korea, Thailand and Taiwan. The center of diversity of Camellia sinensis is in the Upper Mekong River region of Yunnan Province of southwestern China (Chen and Pei, 2003; Chen et al., 2005). Today, tea plants are primarily found in terraced landscapes in the tea belt and other tropical, subtropical and temperate regions where tea cultivation has been introduced, including Sri Lanka, Indonesia, central Africa, Turkey, Argentina and Russia. 

DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-384937-3.00002-1

It is said that tea was brought to Japan early in the Nara era. In the Kamakura era, tea cultivation began in various places in Japan due to the efforts of the Zen Buddhist monks. With a spread of the Zen Buddhism, the custom of tea drinking widely spread. Sencha flourished in the Edo era, and the export of tea began at the end of the Edo era.
However, it is said that the tea first brought from China was compressed tea called heicha. To produce heicha, tea leaves are steamed and compressed into a solid form. The pressed blocks of tea are then dried and roasted. When drinking, a block of tea is scraped off and crushed, and put in boiling water. Salt was added in some cases according to the research.
Then, Zen master Eisai, the founder of the Rinzai school, introduced the matcha method of dissolving tea powder in hot water. Eisai also wrote "Kissa Yojoki" describing the benefits of tea and tea making methods, and offered the book to the third shogun of the Kamakura shogunate, Minamoto no Sanetomo. Sen no Rikyu completed the style of tea ceremony during the Sengoku era.
Globally, tea is classified into green tea (unfermented), oolong tea (semi-fermented) and black tea (fermented) according to the fermentation level of tea leaves. As for green tea, China is the top producing country, followed by Japan.
In Japan, the top tea producing prefecture is Shizuoka (25,200 tons), followed by Kagoshima (23,900 tons), Mie and Miyazaki. ("Tea-picked Area, Yield of Raw Leaf and Production of Crude Tea of Green Tea Produced in 2020" by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries)

In 2024, the Asia Pacific region commands a 45.05% market share, buoyed by Japan's traditional consumption and a surge in adoption in China, India, and Southeast Asia. However, Japan grapples with supply constraints, as its domestic production struggles to satisfy both regional demand and export needs. The region's market dominance is rooted in cultural familiarity and well-established supply chains. Yet, growth rates trail behind those of emerging markets, a reflection of the market's maturity in key consumption areas. Japan, as the primary producer, enjoys certain advantages but also faces vulnerabilities. According to Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, the country's shipments of matcha and other green tea increased by 4% year-on-year to USD 7.47 million in January-May 2023^{[3]Source: Japan Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, "export of green tea and Matcha", maff.go.jp}. Meanwhile, in a bid to counteract supply shortages, China's Guizhou Province is ramping up matcha production, eyeing a target of 5,000 tons of capacity by 2025. However, positioning this output in terms of quality remains a hurdle when juxtaposed with traditional Japanese sources, as noted by Our China Story. In India, the burgeoning matcha cafe culture signals regional growth potential, yet price sensitivity curtails widespread market penetration, confining it largely to affluent urban demographics.

This expansion reflects sustained health-centric consumption, social-media visibility that normalizes ceremonial tea traditions, and premium pricing made possible by tight raw material supplies.
North America is set to witness the fastest regional growth, boasting a 7.74% CAGR from 2025 to 2030. This surge is fueled by a rising health consciousness, the pervasive influence of social media, and adept strategies that have successfully navigated cultural unfamiliarity. Innovations in flavored and ready-to-drink matcha have played a pivotal role in this adaptation.
Europe, South America, and the Middle East and Africa present burgeoning growth prospects, each with unique regional traits. 
 

Matcha tea (see Figure A.1) is traditionally prepared with hot water as a beverage in the Japanese tea ceremony called “Chanoyu”.

Matcha tea is a specific type of green tea prepared with plant cultivation using shading, leaf steaming and leaf grinding processes. An investigation of the levels of L-theanine, chlorophyll and catechins – including epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and epigallocatechin (EGC) 

tea derived solely and exclusively from harvested tender leaves, buds and shoots of varieties of the species Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze var. sinensis which are grown under shade, known to be suitable for making tea for consumption as a beverage, and produced by acceptable processes notably enzyme inactivation using a steaming process followed by a drying process, without rolling the leaves, and a fine grinding process for the leaf to make tea powder

It provides an internationally agreed definition of matcha tea based on the plant source, cultivation and production methods used. These are important for the physical, chemical and sensory characteristics of matcha tea

Ceremonial matcha is the highest quality available and is prepared from the youngest leaves of the tea plant while culinary matcha is less expensive and is produced from later harvest leaves. Compared to ceremonial matcha teas, culinary matcha products had higher total phenolic contents and a larger relative contribution of flavonoids, bioactive compounds with strong antioxidant capacities, to phenolic levels. Culinary matcha teas also exhibited significantly higher CUPRAC (cupric reducing antioxidant capacity) values than ceremonial teas. Ceremonial matcha contained higher levels of chlorophyll and caffeine but these compounds had minimal impact on measured antioxidant properties.

DOI: 10.1007/s11694-025-03448-7

Die Verbraucherschützer warnten, der Begriff Matcha sei lebensmittelrechtlich nicht geschützt, Konsumenten wüssten also nicht, ob das verwendete Pulver nach dem traditionellen, aufwendigen Verfahren hergestellt worden sei oder nicht.

Da beim Matcha das ganze Blatt verzehrt werde, sei der Gehalt höher als bei gefiltertem Tee. Dies gelte ebenso für Pestizide. "Wer auf Nummer sicher gehen möchte, nimmt ein Gramm Matcha pro zubereitetes Getränk, maximal dreimal am Tag", rät der Verbraucherservice. Zudem sei es sinnvoll, Produkte und Marken abzuwechseln. 

Most contaminants leached into tea brew are not detected or are detected at a level lower than the regulatory limits. This means that their levels do not pose a public health hazard. Nevertheless, the traditional practice of over-boiling tea leaves should be discouraged, as there may be a chance for more transfer of contaminants from tea to the brew. Clearly, letting tea steep for > 3 min is not advisable. A cup of tea is recommended to be consumed at 60–70ºC. A

lthough the daily intakes of toxic elements from tea infusions are below the recommended limits and may not therefore constitute a health risk, it is absolutely essential to have a good quality control to determine the presence toxic elements, to avoid overconsumption and their cumulative toxicities in long-term use

Toxic heavy metals Mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), considered as contaminants by the European Commission (2006), and other toxic elements (such as aluminium (Al), chromium (Cr), and nickel (Ni) have been found in tea leaves

DOI: 10.1080/19440049.2014.958575

Anlässlich von Messungen hoher Aluminiumgehalte in Matcha-Tee bewertet das BundesinDOI 10.17590/20190724-104137 Hohe Aluminiumgehalte in einzelnen Matcha-Teeproben Stellungnahme Nr. 027 des BfR vom 25. Juli 2019 stitut für Risikobewertung (BfR) das gesundheitliche Risiko für Verbraucherinnen und Verbraucher, die regelmässig Matcha konsumieren.

n Tees, so auch in Matcha, wird immer wieder Aluminium nachgewiesen. Aluminium ist das häufigste Metall in der Erdkruste und gelangt über den Boden in die Pflanze. Darüber hinaus nehmen Verbraucherinnen und Verbraucher Aluminium auch aus anderen Quellen auf, z. B. über unverarbeitete und verarbeitete Lebensmittel, Lebensmittelverpackungen und Kosmetika. Die Aufnahme hoher Mengen Aluminium kann langfristig das Nervensystem, die Fähigkeit zur Fortpflanzung und die Knochenentwicklung schädigen. Die Europäische Behörde für Lebensmittelsicherheit (EFSA) hat eine lebenslang tolerierbare wöchentliche Aufnahmemenge (tolerable weekly intake, TWI) von 1 Milligramm (mg) Aluminium pro Kilogramm (kg) Körpergewicht abgeleitet

Die Überwachungsbehörde eines Bundeslandes hat einzelne Messdaten zu Aluminium in Matcha-Tee erhoben. Die Gehalte der drei Proben lagen bei 1743, 1775 und 2350 Milligramm (mg) pro Kilogramm (kg). Bei Berücksichtigung der Verzehrmengen von grünem Tee kann der TWI für Aluminium bei Erwachsenen durch regelmässigen Verzehr von Matcha-Tee mit maximalen gemessenen Gehalten langfristig überschritten werden, selbst wenn der Tee als einzige Quelle für die Aluminiumaufnahme betrachtet und keine weiteren Aluminiumquellen berücksichtigt werden.

es besteht weiterer Forschungsbedarf. Abschliessend ist hervorzuheben, dass aufgrund der sehr geringen Zahl analysierter Proben eine Rückschlüsse auf übliche Gehalte an Aluminium in Matcha-Tee und auf die gesundheitliche Bewertung des Lebensmittels Matcha-Tee insgesamt möglich sind.

DOI: 10.17590/20190724-104137