Matcha is a form of green different from any other. The last two weeks before harvesting, the tea tree is kept in almost total darkness. After picking, the tea leaves are steamed, dried in an oven, and finally ground into the fine powder we call matcha. When brewed, matcha suspends in the water or milk and gets consumed by the drinker resulting in a more flavorful and nutritious drink.
Quick Answer: Yes – Matcha does contain quercetin. Compared to other similar foods, its quercetin content is high.
Quercetin Content of Matcha
The quercetin content of matcha is 3.1mg/100ml, and it is a rich source of vitamins A and C, calcium, and amino acids.
Is Matcha High in Quercetin?
Compared to other foods, matcha is reasonably high in quercetin.
Let’s take a look at how it compares to 5 similar foods.
- Regular green tea only offers 2.49mg/100ml, markedly less than matcha.
- Black tea provides 1.99mg/100ml of quercetin, 1.2 milligrams less than matcha.
- Coffee only contains 0.05mg/100ml of quercetin, far, far less than matcha.
- Oolong tea has 1.3mg/100ml, less than half what is provided by matcha.
- White tea contains no quercetin whatsoever.
Sources:
Spandidos Publications, Oncology Reports “Effects of green tea, matcha tea and their components epigallocatechin gallate and quercetin on MCF‑7 and MDA-MB-231 breast carcinoma cells“: https://www.spandidos-publications.com/10.3892/or.2018.6789
USDA Database for the Flavonoid Content of Selected Foods: https://www.ars.usda.gov/arsuserfiles/80400525/data/flav/flav_r03.pdf
Hey, I’m Joey. I’ve been cooking since I was a little kid and love everything about it. You can find my writing about food, kitchen appliances (such as blenders) and much more. Thanks for stopping by!
