Matcha v. Coffee, Which Side Are You On?

Tiffany Sun

May 16, 2025

Matcha, with its rich pastel green color, has risen to mass popularity, especially amongst Gen Z. But why? Apart from its aesthetic appearance, what is urging long-time coffee drinkers to convert to matcha after trying it for just a couple of weeks? Well, matcha provides a calm alertness and a variety of other health benefits.

Matcha is a green tea made up of ground Japanese tea leaves—Camellia Sinensis—that is whisked into hot water, as opposed to steeped, which produces a creamy, frothy consistency that people love. For many loyal matcha-lovers, they have a whole set of materials to create matcha drinks: a bamboo whisk (chasen), a matcha bowl (chawan), a bamboo scoop (chashaku), and a strainer. For others, it’s simply that daily coffee runs have been replaced with daily matcha runs.

If you’ve ever unfortunately been a victim of caffeine jitters, matcha might just be the solution for you. Unlike coffee, which releases its caffeine into your body in a flash, inciting jitters and even a crash, matcha provides a much slower and steadier release of caffeine. This can be attributed to the presence of amino acid L-Theanine in matcha, which regulates and lowers the speed at which your body absorbs caffeine. So, although matcha commonly has less caffeine compared to coffee, many report that it provides a steadier energy boost across a longer period of time (3-6 hours), without side effects like jitters. Other side effects of caffeine that people sometimes experience, such as heightened anxiety, are also absent when matcha is consumed. If you’re particularly caffeine sensitive, like I am, it might be worth giving matcha a chance.

Other benefits of matcha include the antioxidants present, the fact that it doesn’t stain teeth, and its weight loss effects. Surprisingly, although matcha is just a drink made from ground leaves, it’s one of the most antioxidant-rich foods out there. Antioxidants have a large variety of health benefits, ranging from a stronger immune system to slower aging. Additionally, the antioxidants actually help combat oral bacteria, so instead of staining teeth and giving you coffee breath, matcha actually can, in some ways, help reduce the probability of cavities and improve overall oral health. Matcha has also been correlated to higher metabolism and fat burning, particularly when consumed right before workouts, since it increases one’s energy levels.

All that being said, many still stick to coffee because of the spike of energy it brings directly after consumption, which awakens people in the morning. Matcha, with its steadier and long-lasting, yet weaker output of energy, may not be the right fit for everyone’s lifestyle, but it surely is worth a try if coffee jitters, teeth staining, or crashing after coffee have been problematic for you. And even if coffee suits you just fine, why not give matcha a chance? With its aesthetically rich green color and earthy flavor, you might just hop in with the growing crowd of matcha lovers.