Pure, Soothing, Powerful Tea since 2004

Pure, Soothing, Powerful Tea since 2004

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Green Tea FAQ

Add green tea powder to your diet and improve your physical, mental, and brain health!

Green Tea is one of the best natural sources of antioxidants we have.  The therapeutic benefits are tops, especially for cancer of any kind, and green tea is extremely cost effective compared to alternatives. Used by cultures all over the world, Green Tea is one of the nature’s most beneficial and readily available substances.  And, consuming it in powder form, as Ground Green Tea, provides many times more antioxidants than Green Tea brewed from bags or loose leaves because most of the antioxidants are not water soluble and do not come out into the brew water–so we don’t get them unless we eat the leaves.”

Mark A. Gignac, N.D., FABNO Seattle Integrative Cancer Center, Tukwila, WA

The Most Beneficial Nutrition in Green Tea

  1. CATECHINS:  The most beneficial antioxidant:  25 to 100 times more potent than Vitamin C& E.
  2. EGCG:  The Most powerful among Catechin subclasses; responsible for green tea’s long list of health benefits.
  3. L-THEANINE:  A natural relaxant almost exclusively found in green tea leaves.  Stimulates the production of alpha waves in the brain, associated with relaxation and mental alertness.  Doesn’t cause drowsiness.

Specific Health Benefits

3. Diabetes: Regulate blood sugar (glucose and insulin level)
4. Hypertension: Regulate blood pressure
5. Heart Disease:  Prevent cardiovascular disease
6. Weight Loss: Boost metabolism
7. Cholesterol:  Lower bad cholesterol
8. Anti-inflammatory:  Calm inflammatory diseases
9. Anti-viral and Anti-bacteria: Fight off influenza virus
10. Oral Health:  Prevent cavities & bad breath
11. Skin Care: Prevent skin cancer from UV light exposureCalming acne solution with green tea honey mask
12. Hydration:  Quench thirst and hydrate body
14. Anti-aging:  Neutralize free radicals
16. Anti Depression:  Enhance mood
If you or your loved ones are over 60, read 5 reasons to drink green tea.

Nutrition

Nutritional difference in Green Tea comes from growing environment and product manufacturing process. The following list contains Japanese green teas.  Chinese green tea, such as Gun Powder, is not included.  Generally speaking, Sencha, least processed green tea, has the highest amount of Catechin antioxidants among all the green teas, including Chinese green tea.
[gap]Other nutritions naturally occur in green tea leaf:  Fiber, B-Carotene, Chlorophyll, Flavonoid, L-Theanine, Vitamin U, Saponin, Selenium, Calcium, Fluoride, Iron, Magnesium, Zinc
Sources:
“Shin Chagyo Zensho (New Complete Book about Tea Industry)” 1988
“Determination of catechins in matcha green tea by micellar electrokinetic chromatography” David J. Weiss*, Christopher R. Anderton Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado
“Simulataneous analysis of individual catechins and caffeine in green tea”  Tetsuhisa Goto, Yuko Yoshida, Masaaki Kiso, Hitoshi Nagashima,  Journal of Chromatography A, 749 (1996) 295-299 National Food Research Institute, Minisitry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Green Tea Powder Benefits – more Catechins & EGCG!

Drink SEI MEE TEA’s organic green tea powder for the best green tea benefits:

1. More Catechins and EGCG

The amazing green tea health benefits are mainly caused by the strongest antioxidants, Catechins, or EGCG.  When you brew tea leaves and throw them away, the majority of the health benefits are wasted:

  • How many Catechins are in the tea?
 Tea Product  Catechins    Theaflavins  Thearubigins     Flavonol
 Black, dry leaves         3605.63         603.28          5918.94         371.27
 Black, brewed             34.26             6.09              73.44             3.86
 Green, dry leaves  12515.98             6.79            131.91         515.70
 Green, brewed      132.12             0.07                1.08        112.11
 Black ready to drink               2.06             0.17              25.49            2.27
 Green ready to drink             11.86             0.04                 0            1.56

“Total flavonoid subclasses for teas (USDA Flavonoid Composition of Tea:  Comparison of Black and Green Teas)”  Units: mg/100grams. Emphasis by Sei Mee Tea LLC.

  • Healthful components in brewed tea vs. green tea powder:

  • Appearance of each type of green tea:
Sencha (brewed) Sencha Powder Matcha

2. No chemicals, no preservatives, and no lead

Sei Mee Tea uses organically grown ingredients whenever possible. Our products are all preservative free and non GMO.  All the green tea products were tested for heavy metals, Arsenic, Cadmium, Lead, and Mercury, and none of them were detected in our tea.  Edible Green® regular, Genmaicha, Hojicha powder, and MATCHA are USDA certified organic.   Although Edible Green® Decaffeinated is not certified organic, it is decaffeinated by patented “natural water method” with no chemicals.

3. Easy to make a perfect cup of tea or latte

With no steeping time, Sei Mee Tea’s green tea powder makes perfectly smooth, rich green tea everytime.  Just mix 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. in  6 to 8 oz of water, hot or cold.  In order to make a delicious latte, simply mix the powder with one teaspoonful warm water and add 6 to 8 oz milk of any kind, hot or cold.  Use our flavored matcha or flavored sencha powder to make a flavored latte.

4. Not bitter – smooth and rich

Rich and soothing with smooth after flavor.  Enjoy wholesome green tea health benefits naturally without bitterness.

5.  SEI MEE TEA’s Green Tea Powder Products:

The highest grade ceremonial Matcha. Beautiful intense, bright jade green matcha. Experience smooth, deep Umami flavor, and serene elegance filled with vibrant freshness.

Our Organic Matcha is grown in Japan. Enjoy the smooth and creamy flavor–the best flavor for the products available on market for the same price range. One 100g pouch makes about 100 8 oz servings. Feel good and stay focused with this affordable ceremonial grade matcha. Great for Matcha Latte.

Sencha green tea powder provides the highest amount Catechins and EGCG among green teas. Mix 1/4 tsp. with 6 to 8 oz water, hot or cold. Edible Green® is our trademark for organic sencha green tea powder. Higher in Catechins and EGCG than Matcha. Less Caffeine than Matcha. Edible Green® tea is the original sencha green tea powder and it has been used by many medical professionals since 2004.

Edible Green® Genmaicha: Genmaicha is prononced g-en-my-cha.  It is made with organic Sencha and toasted organic brown rice. Nutty, popcorn-like flavor with Sencha antioxidants. The same simple preparation: just mix 1/2 tsp. with 8 oz water, hot or cold.  Provides the same amount of Catchins and EGCG as Edible Green® regular.  Great to pair with Asian meals, such as Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Japanese meals.

Edible Green® Genmaicha: Genmaicha is prononced g-en-my-cha. It is made with organic Sencha and toasted organic brown rice. Nutty, popcorn-like flavor with Sencha antioxidants. The same simple preparation: just mix 1/2 tsp. with 8 oz water, hot or cold. Provides the same amount of Catchins and EGCG as Edible Green® regular. Great to pair with Asian meals, such as Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Japanese meals.

Sencha and Matcha are both “Camellia Sinensis” and green tea, a non-fermented tea.  (Black tea and Oolong tea are also “Camellia Sinensis.”  Black tea is completely fermented and Oolong tea is partially fermented.  Fermentation process decreases Catechins and EGCG, and increases Caffeine.)  However, the nutrition in Sencha and Matcha is not the same.

Nutritional differences in Sencha and Matcha come from their growing environments:

Sencha: Grown in full sun Matcha: Grown in shade
Quality Sencha Green Tea
(loose leaf tea)
Sencha Green Tea Powder Matcha Green Tea Powder
Color dark green dark green bright green
Taste of tea / Feel on the tongue uplifting, refreshing smooth, refreshing, rich smooth, savory “Umami”, creamy
Aftertaste of tea astringent, nutty/fruity slightly astringent no pungent aftertaste
Sencha (brewed from loose leaf)
Sencha Powder
Matcha

Sencha can be found as loose tea leaf or tea bag.  Both are to be brewed, and the tea leaves are thrown away.

Flavor of Sencha tea steeped from quality loose leaf is bright, refreshing, and uplifting.  Cheap Sencha is unpleasantly bitter and/or bland.

Steeped Sencha tea tastes more astringent than green tea made with Sencha green tea powder.

We offer Fukamushi Sencha, which is gaining popularity from green tea connoiseurs.  Fukamushi pronounces as “foo-kah-moo-she” and means “steamed for a longer time.”

Sencha powder allows you to consume the whole tea leaf when you drink the tea.

Choose fine powder with dark green and fresh grassy scent.

Powder is dark green.  Tea made with Sencha powder has dark green color.

Top quality Sencha powder tea tastes smooth with slight astringent aftertaste.

In a gram to gram comparison, Sencha powder contains more antioxidants, Catechins and egcg, than matcha.  Our Sencha powder, Edible Green® is trademarked and original Sencha green tea powder.  Organic and lead free, this Sencha powder has been used by many medical professionals.


Matcha allows you to consume the whole tea leaf when you drink the tea.

Choose fine powder with bright green and fresh grassy scent.

Powder is bright green.  Tea made with Matcha has jade green color.  The longer period the leaf was grown in shade, the brighter green the color is.

Top quality matcha tea tastes smooth with creamy feeling on the tongue.  No pungent aftertaste.

Matcha contains more caffeine and more L-theanine, natural relaxant than Sencha powder.

SEI MEE TEA® offers two grades:  premium and ceremonial.  Our premium grade is the highest ceremonial grade matcha, and it is from Uji, Japan.  We proudly offer our ceremonial grade, which tastes the very best for matcha products with the same price range.

Why does Sencha powder offer more Catechin antioxidants?

Because sun exposure increases Catechin compound in green tea leaves, changing Theanine to Catechins. Catechins, or EGCG, is a type of polyphenols, and it is believed to be responsible for green tea health benefits. When entire tea leaves are consumed, even decaffeinated Sencha green tea powder offers higher amount of Catechins, or EGCG, than Matcha. Edible Green® Sencha green tea powder, regular or water method decaffeinated, is the tea for you, when you would like to avoid Caffeine and would like to get the highest amount of Catechin antioxidants, or EGCG, naturally.

Matcha offers more “Calm Alertness”, which is the benefit of Matcha, a good balance of Caffeine and L-Theanine:

When the sun exposure is less, tea leaves contain more Caffeine and L-theanine. L-theanine is a natural relaxant and is found almost exclusively in green tea.  L-theanine stimulates the production of alpha waves in the brain, and is associated with relaxation and mental alertness, as well as influencing dopamine and serotonine.  Unlike other calming agents, L-theanine doesn’t cause drowsiness. Grown in shade, Matcha offers more Caffeine and more L-theanine than any other type of green tea.  The good balance of Caffeine and L-theanine allows Matcha to generate steady energy without the jitters or crash associated with caffeine in coffee and other “energy” drinks.

Although Matcha contains less Catechin antioxidants compared to Sencha powder, Matcha provides much more Catechin than brewed tea and healthier choice, because you will consuming entire green tea leaf in fine powder form.  When you need a strong energy boost, and would like to gain steady, calm alertness in addition to green tea health benefits, you will love Matcha.

Green Tea, Oolong Tea, and Black Tea are produced from the leaves of Camellia Sinensis, which contains caffeine naturally. The fermentation and finishing process make the unique flavor and nutrition in each type of tea. Green Tea is not fermented at all. Oolong tea is half farmented.  Black Tea is nearly completely fermented. This fermentation process, or oxidation process, changes the natural substances in tea leaves, such as Caffeine and Catechins. “Catechins” are the most prominent antioxidants and the reason Green Tea has been in the center of scientists’ attention.  Green tea leaves contains the highest amount of Catechins, because farmentation process decreases Catechins in the tea leaves.

Caffeine and Catechins (EGCG) relationship in tea leaves

Oxidation decreases Catechins and EGCG in tea leaf.  There are two ways to stop oxidation after tea leaf is harvested:  Steam or Panning.  Both methods kill the enqyme causing oxidation in tea leaf.  Scientific tests show tea steaming method offers higher Catechin & EGCG amount than panning method.

Typically, Japanese green tea uses steaming method, and Chinese green tea uses panning method.

Caffeine in Green Tea

Caffeine amount in 8 oz of tea and coffee:

Edible Green® , regular * 10mg
Edible Green® , decaf **  <3mg
Green Tea (brewed)  24 – 40mg
 MATCHA ***  70mg
 Black Tea  14 – 61mg
 Coffee  95 – 240mg
 Coffee, decaf  2 – 12 mg

source:  Caffeine amounts in other products are taking from mayoclinic.com.

* Edible Green® regular is Japanaese Sencha green tea powder.  One serving of Edible Green®, 1/4 tsp. powder, contains about the same amount as in 1 bar of Hershey Chocolate bar (1.55oz), which contains 9 mg of Caffeine. Edible Green® regular offers about 1/10 of caffeine in regular coffee and offers much more Catechins than brewed green tea.

** Edible Green® decaffeinated still contains 95% of the EGCG antioxidants.

*** Matcha also contains high dose of L-theanine naturally.  L-theanine is a natural relaxant that calms nervous system and increases alpha waves in brain without causing drowsiness.    A great balance of Caffeine and L-theanine creates “calm alertness” and provides steady energy.  Read about:

 How much of your green tea should I drink for green tea health benefits?

EGCG, one of the subclasses of Catechin antioxidants, is the primary cause of the long list of green tea health benefits.  Our green tea powder offers more EGCG than regular tea bag green tea, and one cup a day is a great addition to your healthy lifestyle.

You can drink more than one cup if you would like.  In order to replenish with fresh green tea antioxidants throughout the day, drink one cup every couple of hours up to 7 cups a day.

How much is too much?

Caffeine:  Regular green tea contains caffeine naturally.  According to Mayo Clinic, total Caffeine intake should be limited to 500mg per day.  The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that adolescents get no more than 100 mg of caffeine a day. Younger children shouldn’t drink caffeinated beverages on a regular basis.

How many cups of tea or coffee provide “500mg of Caffeine”?
  • 2 – 5 cups of coffee (95 – 240 mg/serving),
  • 8 – 35 cups of black tea (14 – 61 mg/serving),
  • Over 50 cups of Edible Green® regular (9 mg/serving), or
  • 7 cups of Sei Mee Tea’s Matcha (70 mg/serving when 1g is used to make a serving).

EGCG:  Being a very potent antioxidant, EGCG could be toxic if you consume extremely high doses as in EGCG extract.  Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University reports scientific studies using 6000 mg of EGCG a day caused severe side effects.  They said these side effects were likely related to Caffeine in the green tea extract.

If you drink real green tea in its natural form rather than extracts, you are unlikely to reach a toxic level of EGCG.  That is why we recommend getting EGCG from real whole food, pure green tea powder.  However, people’s tolerance varies, and one should approach higher levels of consumption cautiously.

Get green tea benefits, not caffeine:
Consume the entire leaf, not steeped tea

Common sense about decaf green tea:

Decaffeination reduces the antioxidants, so if you drink the decaffeinated green tea you will need to drink more green tea to get the same health benefits as regular green tea.

It’s true with other decaf green tea, because their decaffeination process removes water soluble antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals along with the caffeine. So, “decaffeinated green tea leaves” don’t have much water soluble nutrition left–that means, if you brew decaffeinated green tea leaves, you just get colored water with little antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.

Edible Green® Decaf sencha green tea powder is most efficient green tea, when you are sensitive to caffeine. 95% of Catechins are left in Edible Green Decaf sencha green tea powder.  That means you still get 95% of Catechins from this amazing sencha green tea powder.  Since Sencha offers more Catechins than Matcha does, Edible Green Decaf green tea powder offers more Catchins than Matcha does.  No more compromise on green tea benefits to enjoy decaf green tea!

Edible Green® Decaf green tea powder is the only decaf green tea that delivers green tea benefits to you.


30 individual serving packets

60 cup bulk pouch

-Naturally decaffeinated with patented Water Process method.
-Decaf green tea powder is almost as healthy as regular green tea powder with 95% of Catechins.
-Edible Green® Decaf green tea powder is the only one “decaf green tea powder” available in the US market.  Same mild and smooth flavor as regular Edible Green® tea powder.

Kiyomi, Edible Green® Decaf is ‘Kiyummy’!
-Chick Russell, Executive Show Producer Universal Creative, Orlando, FL

Decaffeinated with Natural Water Method[gap]

EGCG antioxidants remain in green tea leaves when they are decaffeinated using patented natural water method. With patented water method, Edible Green® Decaffeinated sencha green tea powder contains 14.03% of Catechins.

Translated from “Report on Decaffeination Process of Green Tea”

By Yuichi Yamaguchi
Labor-saving Tea Production Research Team
The National Agriculture and Research Organization, Japan. 

The basic fact behind a natural decaffeination process of green tea: Caffeine is more easily and quickly eluted with hot water than EGCG, the most prominent antioxidants. Many of the beneficial effects of green tea are related to its catechins, especially, EGCG.

According to the study done by Tsushida, when raw green tea leaves and steamed green tea leaves are soaked in hot water of 176 degrees Fahrenheit, 70% of caffeine after 1 minute and 80% after 3 minutes were eluted from both type of tea leaves. However, little amount of caffeine was eluted when the water temperature was 140 degree Fahrenheit. The results show decaffeination efficiency largely depends on the water temperature.

Elution amount of EGCG is much less compared to Caffeine. When green tea leaves were steeped in hot water of 176 degrees Fahrenheit for 3 minutes and 80% of the caffeine was removed, only 4.1% of EGCG was eluted and 95.8% of EGCG remained in tea leaves.

The results show Caffeine can be removed selectively from both raw and steamed green tea leaves.

(“Journal of Agriculture and Chemistry Society” 59, 1985)


Edible Green® Decaf has more Catechins than Matcha!

 Product Catechin amount (%) Ratio
*Matcha 10.95% 1
Edible Green® Decaffeinated 14.03% 1.28
*Sencha green tea powder  (Edible Green® regular) 15.55% 1.42

*Source: “Simulataneous analysis of individual catechins and caffeine in green tea” by Tetsuhisa Goto, Yuko Yoshida, Masaaki Kiso, Hitoshi Nagashima Journal of Chromatography A, 749 (1996) 295-299 National Food Research Institute, Minisitry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Matcha is Camellia Sinensis, the same as other type of green tea, but grown in shade.  Less sun exposure increases Caffeine and L-theanine in the tea leaves.  In order to grow Matcha, higher in Caffeine and L-theanine, tea farmers need to put shades all over the tea fields for a certain period of time.

That’s why there is no “decaffeinated Matcha” in tea industry–it doesn’t make sense to remove caffeine after extra effort was made to increase caffeine.  Yes, “Matcha” is supposed to be high in Caffeine.  High Caffeine content was welcomed by Zen monks and Samurai warriors to stay alert.

However, when Camellia Sinensis is grown in full sun and the tea leaves are steamed immediately after harvest to stop oxidation, the tea leaves are called Sencha.  Grown in full sun, Sencha has more antioxidants, less caffeine, and less L-theanine than Matcha.  Sencha Powder can be called as “Matcha with less caffeine,” if “Matcha” term is used as a synonym of “green tea powder.”

Although Sencha Powder is already low in Caffeine, we use patented water method decaffeination process and remove almost all the caffeine from sencha leaves and make our decaf green tea powder.

Find more about Decaffeinated Edible Green® Sencha Powder.

We use USDA certified organic ingredient(s) for these products: Edible Green® regular, MATCHA, Edible Green® GENMAICHA, Sencha powder in all of our green tea powder blends, Dark Chocolate, and Acai. We use organically grown ingredient(s) for the following products (no pesticides or herbicides, no chemical additives): Edible Green® decaffeinated & Unforgettable™ gluten free coffee alternative. We do not use artificial flavors, artificial colors, preservatives, and genetically modified food items.

All of our green tea products and ingredients, Sencha green tea powder, Sencha green tea powder decaffeinated, and Matcha, are from Japan.  We use ceremonial grade Matcha for our MATCHA.

Just mix powder (1/4 to 1/2 tsp.) in 6 – 8 oz water, hot or cold.  For the best warm cup, use 175 degrees F water.  For cold tea, use chilled water.  No boiling, brewing, or chilling.

Being natural green tea leaf and with no chemical emulsifier, green tea powder suspends rather than dissolves in water.  So, green tea powder mixes well even in cold water.

Milk protein, especially whey, extends green tea antioxidant effect.  Lattes, smoothies, & protein shakes with green tea powder are all tasty, healthy treats.

Vitamin C enhances antioxidant activity of green tea, so lemon is a good addition.  If you are diabetic, do not add sugar to green tea.  Green tea antioxidants controls blood sugar level if sugar is not added to green tea.

Using green tea powder as an herb is a great idea.  Green tea adds not only antioxidants, but also “UMAMI (oo-mah-me)”, savoriness to the food.  Green tea antioxidants are also scientifically proven to reduce carcinogens in meats when they are cooked with high heat, such as BBQ.

Disclaimer:  The above statements have not been evaluated by FDA.  They are not intended to diagnose, prevent, treat, and cure any diseases.