Coffee vs. Matcha: Which One’s Actually Better for Your Health?

As matcha rises in popularity, you may have considered swapping coffee for matcha as your go-to caffeinated drink. Matcha is an earthy beverage made from powdered green tea whisked into hot water or milk. This high-quality tea has a distinct flavor and is rich in antioxidants and amino acids linked with numerous health benefits, like preventing cancer and improving cognitive function.¹

Coffee is also full of antioxidants. About half of adults in the United States enjoy this beverage daily to fight fatigue.² Studies show drinking coffee may help prevent inflammation, type 2 diabetes, and depression.³⁴⁵⁶ In short, there are benefits to drinking both matcha and coffee—but which one is better for you?

What Are the Benefits of Coffee?

Coffee is best known for its high caffeine content. But while it's a great way to wake yourself up, it boasts several other surprising health benefits:

• Good source of antioxidants: Coffee is rich in antioxidant compounds called polyphenols—particularly chlorogenic acid, which can reduce inflammation and positively alter blood sugars and lipids. It may also help prevent or manage cancer.⁵
• May lower your risk of Parkinson’s disease: Coffee reduces the misproduction of a protein linked to the development of Parkinson’s.³
• May lower your risk of diabetes: One study found that type 2 diabetes risk decreased by 6% for each additional cup of caffeinated or decaf coffee consumed daily.⁷
• May benefit brain health: One study found that drinking coffee with or without tea is linked to a lower risk of dementia after a stroke.⁸
• May lower your risk of depression: In one study, participants who drank around 400 milliliters (mL), or about 1.5 cups, of coffee per day had the lowest rates of depression.⁴ Another study found that each additional cup of coffee consumed daily was linked with an 8% lower risk of depression.⁹

What Are the Benefits of Matcha?

Like coffee, matcha is packed with caffeine. It also:

• Is rich in antioxidants: Matcha is full of polyphenols called catechins. These help reduce levels of harmful compounds known as free radicals that are linked to several chronic diseases.¹ Studies show that increasing your intake of a catechin in matcha called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) may help prevent colorectal, gallbladder, and biliary duct cancer.¹
• May promote cognitive function: One study found that drinking matcha every day improved cognitive functioning among elderly women, but not men.¹⁰ Matcha may also help decrease anxiety and improve memory by increasing dopamine and serotonin receptors.¹¹
• May improve metabolic health: One study found that drinking matcha tea improved markers of metabolic health in higher-weight participants. Participants had increased high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol ("good" cholesterol"), decreased blood glucose levels, and increased IL-10—an anti-inflammatory protein.¹²
• May reduce depression: A recent study in mice found that matcha tea powder has an antidepressant effect by activating certain parts of the brain’s dopamine system.¹³ Although there aren’t human studies on matcha’s direct impact on depression, a recent human study found that green tea consumption was linked with lower rates of depression in postmenopausal women.¹⁴

How Does the Caffeine Compare?

Both coffee and matcha are high in caffeine. Their exact caffeine content may depend on how they are prepared:¹

• Coffee: 10–12 milligrams (mg) of caffeine per gram (g). One cup of coffee often provides 80–100 mg of caffeine.
• Matcha: 18.9–44.4 mg/g. It’s often prepared using 2 g, so the caffeine content is about 38–89 mg per serving.

For reference, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends that healthy adults limit caffeine intake to no more than 400 mg per day.¹⁵

Key Similarities and Differences

Matcha and coffee share many similar benefits, largely due to their antioxidant and caffeine content, but they also have several differences.

Antioxidant Power

While matcha and coffee are both rich in polyphenols, they’re each higher in different types of these antioxidants:^5,1

• Coffee: High in chlorogenic acid
• Matcha: High in catechins (especially EGCG)

Thanks to these antioxidants, both beverages may help prevent cancer, diabetes, and inflammation. They help neutralize harmful free radicals that cause oxidative stress, which is linked with several chronic diseases.¹⁶

Energy and Focus

Both coffee and matcha contain caffeine, which can combat fatigue, improve your response time, and enhance athletic performance.^17,18

• Coffee: Boosts your response time, energy, and alertness. You might feel a quicker, more intense energy boost.
• Matcha: Enhances focus and calm productivity. Matcha may give you a more gradual, sustained energy boost.¹

Matcha doesn’t have the same excitable effect as coffee. This may be because matcha contains theanine, an amino acid that has been shown to reduce stress and may counter the jittery feeling caffeine can cause.^19,20

Mental Health and Cognition Effects

Studies on both matcha and coffee show benefits for cognitive function, but in slightly different ways.

• Coffee: There is slightly stronger research to support coffee's depression prevention properties.⁴
• Matcha: Matcha may help with focus, reduce anxiety, and prevent caffeine jitters.²⁰

Drinking either coffee or tea, or both in combination, has been linked with a lower risk of stroke and dementia.⁸

Acidity and Stomach Impact

• Coffee is more acidic (pH 4.85–5.13) and more likely to cause acid reflux.²¹
• Matcha is slightly less acidic (pH 5.58–5.94) and may be gentler on digestion.^22,23

So, Which Is Better?

Matcha and coffee are both health-promoting beverages when enjoyed in moderation.

• Choose coffee if: You need a stronger energy boost or are looking for depression-fighting benefits.⁴
• Choose matcha if: You’re sensitive to caffeine, prone to caffeine jitters, want to improve your productivity, or are dealing with acid reflux.²⁰

A Quick Review

Coffee and matcha are both fatigue-fighting beverages rich in antioxidants that can help prevent chronic diseases.

However, if you have acid reflux or get jittery or anxious from coffee, try matcha. It’s less acidic, contains less caffeine per serving, and contains theanine, which has stress-reducing effects that may prevent the excitability coffee can cause.

Sources:

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Important Notice: This article was originally published at www.health.com by Isabel Vasquez RD LDN, where all credits are due. Medically reviewed by Jamie Johnson, RDN

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