Ingredient Showcase: Matcha Green Tea

As we continue our ingredient showcase, we want to focus this week on the relationship between your workout and maintaining a healthy metabolism. After all, many people begin working out because they want to lose weight. And not just for that beach body; for some losing weight is a matter of life and death! 

The first major ingredient in our pre-workout was specifically chosen to increase your metabolism. The infamous Matcha. Popularized in the US thanks to companies like Jamba Juice and Starbucks, Matcha is an ancient technique for turning green tea leaves into a powdered form. The practice of making Matcha green tea can be traced back as far as the Tang Dynasty (618–907) in China. With the spread of Zen Buddhism, Matcha eventually found its way to Japan and became a traditional drink served at Zen Japanese tea ceremonies.

Unlike other teas, Matcha green tea is grown in the shade and then ground into powder. Because the leaves are grown in the shade, there is an increase in chlorophyll, giving Matcha its intense flavor, scent, and deep, green color. This also forces the tea plant to increase its output of caffeine, along with a certain amino acid analogue called theanine, to compensate for the lack of sun. Caffeine by itself is the most used psychoactive substance in the world. When paired with theanine, the two compounds may be the key to unlocking your natural metabolism.

Today, Matcha is specifically cultivated for the increased amount of caffeine and theanine, which is why we put it in our pre-workout. Caffeine is universally known to increase metabolism and energy. Theanine on the other hand, although ingested for centuries, was unknown to the world of science until 1949. The many benefits of theanine are still being discovered. Theanine has even been described as a nootropic, or a cognitive enhancer. Some of the benefits reported include anxiety reduction, blood-pressure control, immune boost, and even faster reaction time!

So, not only is Matcha the most effective and natural way to gain the metabolic benefits of caffeine. It may improve your mental health and your cognitive abilities!

For more in depth on theanine and Matcha, you can read through this study.