Black Tea and Matcha: One Plant, Two Drinks

Black tea and green tea come from the same plant. Cultivar differences exist, but processing is what separates them.

Oxidation is the dividing line

Picked leaves contain enzymes that begin oxidizing them. Left alone, the leaf browns and its aroma changes.

Green tea is steamed soon after picking to deactivate those enzymes. That is why it stays green.

Black tea encourages oxidation instead — the leaf is rolled to rupture cells and left to oxidize, producing the characteristic color and aroma.

Oolong stops partway through.

Three drinks, one plant, decided by when the reaction is halted.

Different compounds carry the flavor

Green tea astringency comes from catechins. During oxidation, catechins combine into theaflavins and thearubigins.

That is the source of the reddish-brown color, and the astringency changes character — sharper in green tea, rounder in black.

Both contain caffeine

Per 100 ml: black tea 30 mg, sencha 20 mg. Black tea runs somewhat higher, though brewing method affects this enough that the gap is not fixed.

Matcha stands apart

Matcha is a green tea, but the format differs. You drink ground leaf rather than an infusion, so water-insoluble components come through as well.

Japanese composition tables list matcha at 38.5 g of dietary fiber and 2,900 μg of vitamin K per 100 g — figures that reflect consuming the leaf itself.

Sweetening habits

Adding sugar and milk to black tea is well established. Adding sugar to green tea is not, in Japan.

Sweetened matcha is the exception, popularized from the mid-1950s as a cold drink. Green tea arriving at a similar destination by a different route.

Pairing differs

Black tea leans toward Western confectionery; matcha toward wagashi.

Sweetened matcha complicates that, since the drink itself supplies sweetness. Salty snacks or restrained baked goods balance better.