Comparison of the Chemical Components of Powdered Green Tea Sold in the US

Japan Agricultural Research Quarterly
ISSN 00213551
NII recode ID (NCID) AA0068709X
Comparison of the Chemical Components of Powdered Green  Tea  Sold  in  the  US
Full text

The international market for green tea is growing. Samples of twenty-five powdered green teas were collected from the market in the United States, and their chemical components were compared. Their prices varied widely, from $4.3 to $160 per 100 g. The higher-priced teas were labeled as “matcha” and are used in the traditional Japanese tea ceremony. They showed a higher content of chlorophyll and of free amino acids (theanine and arginine) than the less expensive teas. They also showed a lower content of epigallocatechin as well as a lower conversion percentage of chlorophyll to pheophytin than those of lower prices. Matcha is traditionally produced in Japan and considered one of the country’s most precious teas. In spite of the large differences in chemical composition compared with the highly priced powdered green teas (ceremonial-grade matcha), the cheaper teas are also labeled as “matcha” in the US market. It is, therefore, necessary to come up with an international definition of matcha to resolve the confusion.

 

Date of issued
Creator Hideki HORIE Kaori EMA Hiroshi NISHIKAWA Yoriyuki NAKAMURA
Subject chlorophylls catechins theanine matcha
Publisher Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences
Available Online
NII resource type vocabulary Journal Article
Volume 52
Issue 2
spage 143
epage 147
DOI 10.6090/jarq.52.143
Language eng

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