The recent study was done with ‘ceremonial grade’ matcha, which is a type of green tea powder made from whole dried leaves. The contents of the whole leaf are consumed in the beverage, as opposed to the steeped version more commonly consumed in which the leaves, and some of their constituents, are discarded.
The ‘ceremonial grade’ moniker refers to the care with which this particular grade is harvested, said Derek Timm, technical sales manager of Taiyo International. Taiyo is offering the ingredient as part of a new partnership with Japanese firm ITO EN.
“Ceremonial grade is a term that refers to the highest grade matcha. Ceremonial grade matcha is made from the youngest tea leaves that have the highest levels of chlorophyll, which is why it has a more vibrant green color compared to culinary matcha. Being as matcha simply is ground tea leaves, it’s difficult to standardize various bioactive components due to agricultural variability,” Timm told NutraIngredients-USA.
The new matcha study was the work of two ITO EN researchers and an expert associated with a medical clinic in Tokyo. The research was published in the journal Nutrition Research.
Effects on cognition under mild stress
To study the effects of matcha consumption among a population of healthy young subjects the researchers recruited 42 participants ages 25 to 34 years, who consumed 2 grams of ITO EN’s ceremonial-grade matcha daily for two weeks. After completing tests designed to induce mild, acute psychological stress, participants’ memory, attention, reaction times and other criteria were evaluated.