Matcha by the Numbers: Composition per 100 g
Sweetened matcha is matcha plus sugar. The sugar side is straightforward, so the variable is the matcha.
Japan's Standard Tables of Food Composition list matcha as follows.
| Component | Per 100 g |
|---|---|
| Energy | 237 kcal |
| Protein | 29.6 g |
| Carbohydrate | 39.5 g |
| — of which dietary fiber | 38.5 g |
| Potassium | 2,700 mg |
| Zinc | 6.3 mg |
| Vitamin C | 60 mg |
| Vitamin K | 2,900 μg |
| Folate | 1,200 μg |
Almost all the carbohydrate is fiber
Of 39.5 g of carbohydrate, 38.5 g is dietary fiber. Subtract it and roughly 1 g of sugar remains.
Matcha on its own is nearly sugar-free. Whatever sweetness exists in a sweetened product was added.
Scale the figures down
These are per 100 g. A single serving uses far less, and in a sweetened product only part of the powder is matcha.
If a 20 g serving contains 5 g of matcha, divide the table by 20 — about 145 μg of vitamin K, about 135 mg of potassium. Blend ratios vary, so treat this as a method rather than a result.
Some components sit outside the table
Figures for the compounds that define tea flavor are usually quoted as percentages of dry leaf weight:
- Catechins: 8–20%
- Caffeine: 2–4%
- L-theanine: 0.5–3%
Catechins bring astringency, theanine umami, caffeine bitterness.
Why the numbers run high
Brewed tea gives you only what dissolves. Water-insoluble components stay in the leaf and get discarded.
Matcha is ground leaf mixed into liquid, so insoluble components come along too. That is why fiber and vitamin K appear at levels you would never see in a steeped cup.
