Last Updated on November 7, 2022 by
One of the healthiest teas on earth, matcha has been a staple in Japan for hundreds of years. Matcha is considered a functional tea because of its high antioxidant content. Researchers have found that drinking matcha green tea boosts metabolism and speeds up your body’s ability to burn fat.
Matcha tea is known for providing nutritional benefits and aiding in weight loss. The health benefits of matcha tea can be attributed to several factors including antioxidant levels, amino acid–catechins, fiber and chlorophyll. The purpose of this article is to discuss how all the ingredients found in matcha can help in weight loss and overall health. After all, if you want to take control of your weight, then this is the way to go. Here is why: I’m going to talk about Matcha For Weight Loss, make sure you read this article.
Matcha For Weight Loss

I didn’t start drinking matcha for weight loss. I started drinking it for all of the other health benefits but I quickly discovered that weight loss was an awesome side effect to this amazing superfood!
In this article you are going to learn all about matcha for weight loss and by the time you finish reading it you are going to know if matcha is for you.
What Is Matcha?

Matcha is made from the leaves of the green tea plant. The leaves are shaded during the end of the growing process which enhances the green tea benefits.
The leaves are then ground to an ultra fine powder and consumed whole, in matcha green tea, which provides much more health benefits than regular green tea.
According to a study by the National Library of Medicine, catechins or an epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG)-caffeine mixture have a positive effect on weight loss and weight maintenance.
Catechins are a type of compound found in tea, with matcha, we are talking mainly about the catechin – epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), which is a very potent antioxidant.
Best Matcha For Weight Loss
Encha Matcha
- Encha Ceremonial Grade Matcha
- Hand-picked from organic farm in Uji, Japan
- First Harvest Matcha – Vibrant green color
- Highest quality matcha, never bitter
- Our Rating: 4.9 of 5 stars
Tenzo Matcha
Pique Matcha
- Tenzo Organic Ceremonial Matcha Green Tea Powder
- Authentic Japanese Matcha
- Rich in antioxidants, helps boost metabolism
- Ceremonial Grade – Vibrant Green Color
- Pique Matcha – Organic Japanese Matcha Green Tea Powder
- Harvested from a family-owned organic tea farm in Japan
- Increases energy and focus
- Highest-quality, shade grown ceremonial-grade
- Our Rating: 4.8 of 5 stars
Kenko Matcha
- Kenko Matcha Organic Ceremonial Matcha
- Gold Class Ceremonial Grade Matcha
- Country of Origin: Japan
- First Harvest Matcha – Vibrant Green in Color
- Our Rating: 4.8 of 5 stars
Below you will find a great video showing how matcha is produced from start to finish.
How Matcha Tea Helps With Weight Loss

Let’s take a more in-depth look at how matcha helps with weight loss.
1. Metabolism – The powerful polyphenol antioxidant EGCGs mentioned above acts like a fat blocker, boosting metabolism and slowing or even stopping the growth of fat cells. Another Green Tea study has shown significant weight loss as well as significant decrease in body mass index and reduced waist circumference after 12 weeks of high dose green tea consumption. This study also uncovered a decrease in total cholesterol and LDL without any side effects or adverse effects.
2. Thermogenesis – Thermogenesis is the rate at which the human body burns calories. In this study, green tea extract, like that found in matcha, was proven to increase the human body’s ability to burn calories from 8-10% to a shocking 35-40%!
3. Matcha can help Balance Blood Glucose – Spiking your blood sugar has been shown to not only cause weight gain, but can also cause diabetes over time. Consuming matcha, which is sugar free has been shown to balance blood sugar resulting in better moods and less weight gain.
4. Matcha Provides Sustained Energy – Because of the unique combination of EGCGs and caffiene, the caffeine is tempered when consuming matcha. There is no big jolt of energy, but a more evenly distributed energy, and the caffeine effects are sustained over a much longer period. This increased energy level can help to keep you more active throughout the day, leading to more calories burned and more weight loss.
Other Benefits of Matcha

1. Lowers Cholesterol
In test-tube studies, it has been shown to block an enzyme that plays a role in cholesterol and fat metabolism. When this enzyme is blocked, it can lower cholesterol. It also helps boost HDL cholesterol while reducing LDL. These effects make it possible for you to enjoy heart-healthy benefits without changing your diet or exercise habits, which is convenient since many people do not have enough time in the day to squeeze these activities into their schedules.
2. May Lower Risk of Type 2 Diabetes
Studies have found that regular consumption can lower the risk of Type 2 diabetes. In one study, participants who drank more than four cups daily reduced their risk of developing diabetes by 58 percent after 12 weeks. Matcha powder also works as well as metformin to improve glucose tolerance in type 2 diabetics.
3. Fights Cancer
It may help fight specific cancer cells in your body. It has been shown to protect the body against lung, prostate, and breast cancer. This effect is caused by polyphenols, antioxidants that fight toxic substances in your body and lower the risk of oxidative damage. Ceremonial matcha also has been found to inhibit the growth of cancer cells.
How To Prepare Matcha Green Tea For Weight Loss?
While we call it matcha green tea, it really isn’t a tea at all.
Unlike green tea, which is steeped in water, matcha is prepared by mixing the finely ground matcha tea powder into water in order to create an emulsion.
By doing this, you are actually consuming the ground matcha tea leaves and you are getting all of the benefits of the matcha.
The traditional method for preparing matcha green tea is with a bamboo matcha whisk and a bowl. However, more and more matcha lovers are moving towards a simple milk frother.
How To Prepare Matcha Tea
Here is a great video showing exactly how to prepare matcha green tea. The recipe is below the video.
1. Sift one half – one teaspoon of matcha green tea powder into a bowl or cup.
2. Add 2-4 ounces of hot water. (180-190 degrees F)
3. Use a bamboo whisk using a back and forth motion to form an emulsion and a layer of froth, or use a milk frother to do the same.
Your Matcha green tea is now ready to be consumed.
How Many Cups of Matcha Tea A Day For Weight Loss?

Now that you know how matcha helps with weight loss and how to prepare matcha green tea, let’s take a look at how many cups of matcha tea you should drink every day for weight loss.
It is widely accepted that consuming between 1 – 4 teaspoons a day of matcha green tea powder will significantly increase your body’s ability to lose weight.
If you were to use 1 teaspoon in each cup of matcha green tea, then you would need to consume between 1 – 4 cups of matcha tea a day for weight loss.
However, keep in mind that there are more ways to get matcha in your diet besides matcha tea.
One of our favorite ways to use matcha for weight loss is by adding it to the best matcha smoothies!
Best Time To Drink Matcha For Weight Loss

The best time to drink matcha for weight loss is before every meal.
And here’s why.
Not only will you get all of the weight loss benefits of matcha, but matcha and caffeine are also known to suppress your appetite.
On top of the metabolism boost, the thermogenic boost, and the increased energy, you will also take advantage of the reduced appetite factor.
The truth is that there isn’t a bad time of day to drink matcha for weight loss. I would however, advise against drinking matcha before bed time as the caffeine will keep you up. Finally, most of the studies showed that the best weight loss results from matcha were also in combination with moderate to vigorous exercise. This means that matcha alone won’t cause you to lose weight, but coupled with physical activity it has an accelerated effect on the metabolism and burning of fat!
As the studies cited above have proven, matcha for weight loss is real. Although many of the studies surrounding weight loss were done with green tea, matcha’s nutrient profile is much more dense than green tea, and it is therefore assumed to have an even greater benefit.
Can one little change, like adding matcha to your diet on a daily basis really make that big of a difference?
There is only one way to find out!
Go check out the best matcha powder, buy one of the recommended brands and start implementing matcha green tea into your diet.
You will quickly learn that weight loss is only one of the many benefits of matcha that you will enjoy!
Proven Ways Matcha Tea Improves Your Health
Curious about matcha tea? This video explains the ways in which matcha tea improves your health.
Matcha has skyrocketed in popularity lately, with matcha shots, lattes, teas, and even desserts appearing everywhere from health stores to coffee shops.
Like green tea, matcha comes from the Camellia sinensis plant. However, it’s grown differently and has a unique nutrient profile.
Farmers grow matcha by covering their tea plants 20–30 days before harvest to avoid direct sunlight. This increases chlorophyll production, boosts the amino acid content, and gives the plant a darker green hue.
Once the tea leaves are harvested, the stems and veins are removed and the leaves are ground up into a fine powder known as matcha.
Matcha contains the nutrients from the entire tea leaf, which results in a greater amount of caffeine and antioxidants than typically found in green tea.
Studies of matcha and its components have unearthed a variety of benefits, showing that it can help protect the liver, promote heart health, and even aid in weight loss.
Here are 7 health benefits of matcha tea, all based on science.
1. High in antioxidants

Matcha is rich in catechins, a class of plant compounds in tea that act as natural antioxidants.
Antioxidants help stabilize harmful free radicals, which are compounds that can damage cells and cause chronic disease.
When you add matcha powder to hot water to make tea, the tea contains all the nutrients from the entire leaf. It will tend to have more catechins and antioxidants than simply steeping green tea leaves in water.
In fact, by one estimate, the number of certain catechins in matcha is up to 137 times greater than in other types of green tea (1Trusted Source).
One study showed that giving mice matcha supplements reduced damage caused by free radicals and enhanced antioxidant activity (2Trusted Source).
Including matcha in your diet could increase your antioxidant intake, which may help prevent cell damage and even lower your risk of several chronic diseases (3Trusted Source).
SUMMARY
Matcha contains a concentrated amount of antioxidants, which may reduce cell damage and prevent chronic disease.
2. May help protect the liver
The liver is vital to health and plays a central role in flushing out toxins, metabolizing drugs, and processing nutrients.
Some studies have found that matcha may help protect the health of your liver.
One study gave diabetic rats matcha for 16 weeks and found that it helped prevent damage to both the kidneys and liver (4Trusted Source).
Another study gave 80 people with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease either a placebo or 500 mg of green tea extract daily for 90 days.
After 12 weeks, green tea extract significantly reduced liver enzyme levels. Elevated levels of these enzymes are a marker of liver damage (5Trusted Source).
Furthermore, an analysis of 15 studies found that drinking green tea was associated with a decreased risk of liver disease (6Trusted Source).
However, it’s important to remember that there may be other factors involved in this association.
More research is needed to look at the effects of matcha on the general population, since most research is limited to studies examining the effects of green tea extract in animals.
SUMMARY
Some studies have shown that matcha could prevent liver damage and decrease the risk of liver disease. However, additional studies are needed to look at the effects on humans in the general population.
3. Boosts brain function
Some research shows that several of the components in matcha could help enhance brain function.
One study in 23 people looked at how people performed on a series of tasks designed to measure brain performance.
Some participants consumed either matcha tea or a bar containing 4 grams of matcha, while the control group consumed a placebo tea or bar.
The researchers found that matcha caused improvements in attention, reaction time, and memory, compared to the placebo (7Trusted Source).
Another small study showed that consuming 2 grams of green tea powder daily for 2 months helped improve brain function in older people (8Trusted Source).
Additionally, matcha contains a more concentrated amount of caffeine than green tea, packing in 35 mg of caffeine per half teaspoon (about 1 gram) of matcha powder.
Multiple studies have linked caffeine consumption to improvements in brain function, citing faster reaction times, increased attention, and enhanced memory (9Trusted Source, 10Trusted Source, 11Trusted Source).
Matcha also contains a compound called L-theanine, which alters the effects of caffeine, promoting alertness and helping avoid the crash in energy levels that can follow caffeine consumption (12Trusted Source).
L-theanine has also been shown to increase alpha wave activity in the brain, which may help induce relaxation and decrease stress levels (13Trusted Source).
SUMMARY
Matcha has been shown to improve attention, memory, and reaction time. It also contains caffeine and L-theanine, which can improve several aspects of brain function.
4. May help prevent cancer
Matcha is jam-packed with health-promoting compounds, including some that have been linked to cancer prevention in test tube and animal studies.
In one study, green tea extract decreased tumor size and slowed the growth of breast cancer cells in rats (14Trusted Source).
Matcha is especially high in epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a type of catechin that has been shown to have powerful anti-cancer properties.
One test tube study found that the EGCG in matcha helped kill off prostate cancer cells (15Trusted Source).
‘Other test tube studies have shown that EGCG is effective against skin, lung, and liver cancer (16Trusted Source, 17Trusted Source, 18Trusted Source).
Keep in mind that these were test tube and animal studies looking at specific compounds found in matcha. Further research is needed to determine how these results may translate to humans.
SUMMARY
Test tube and animal studies have found that the compounds in matcha may inhibit the growth of cancer cells.
5. May promote heart health
Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for an estimated one-third of all deaths in people over the age of 35 (19Trusted Source).
Some studies have shown that drinking green tea, which has a similar nutrient profile to matcha, may help protect against heart disease.
Green tea has been shown to reduce levels of total and “bad” LDL cholesterol, as well as triglycerides (20Trusted Source, 21Trusted Source).
It may also help prevent the oxidation of LDL cholesterol, another factor that may protect against heart disease (22Trusted Source).
Observational studies have also shown that drinking green tea is associated with a reduced risk of heart disease and stroke (23Trusted Source, 24Trusted Source).
When combined with a well-rounded diet and healthy lifestyle, drinking matcha may help keep your heart healthy and protect against disease.