Organic cacao blended with ceremonial-grade Japanese matcha — a gentler way into matcha for anyone who finds it grassy or bitter on its own. No added sugars, dyes or preservatives.
Claims you will not find here
Blends like this are normally sold as "packed with antioxidants" and as something that "energizes naturally". Neither appears here.
"Antioxidant" is not an authorised health claim in the EU. The European Commission specifically rejected general antioxidant claims for foods, because nobody could demonstrate what the supposed benefit actually was in a person. Matcha genuinely is rich in catechins — that is a true fact about the plant. What it does for you is not something anyone has substantiated to a regulator.
"Energises" is a health claim too, and in this case there is a plainer and more useful answer: it contains caffeine. That is not mysterious and it does not need dressing up.
Why matcha caffeine behaves differently
This bit is genuine and interesting. Matcha is powdered whole leaf, so you drink the leaf rather than an infusion of it — which means considerably more caffeine than a cup of brewed green tea, often comparable to a weak coffee.
The reason it feels different is L-theanine, an amino acid found almost exclusively in tea, which matcha contains in unusually high amounts because the plants are shaded for weeks before harvest. Shading raises theanine and chlorophyll and lowers catechins — which is why matcha is so green and comparatively less bitter than sun-grown green tea.
Theanine crosses the blood-brain barrier, and the combination of caffeine with theanine is the most-studied thing about tea. We cannot tell you it improves focus — no such claim is authorised — but the caffeine content is a fact and the theanine is a fact.
No added sugar — read it carefully
It means no sugar was added. It does not mean the drink you make will be unsweetened to taste: matcha and cacao are both bitter, and most people add something. Worth knowing before you are disappointed.
Two honest notes about matcha
Lead. Because matcha is whole ground leaf, you consume everything the leaf accumulated — including the small amounts of lead that tea plants take up from soil and air. With brewed tea most of it stays in the leaf you throw away. Levels in tested products are low and an occasional cup is not a concern; it is a reason to buy certified matcha from a known origin rather than the cheapest available, and a reason not to drink several bowls a day.
Green tea catechins. EFSA has concluded that doses of EGCG at or above 800 mg a day from concentrated supplements may harm the liver. That figure concerns extracts, not ordinary tea drinking — but matcha is the most concentrated everyday form, and it is worth not treating it as unlimited.
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