Matcha During Pregnancy: Can You Drink It?

Now that you're pregnant, you look at your morning matcha differently. Matcha contains caffeine. During pregnancy, your total caffeine intake matters, from all sources; a general guide is 200 mg per day. Counting a fixed number of bowls won't answer your question.

Morning coffee, afternoon tea, and chocolate also count toward that total. If a drink brings on palpitations or other discomfort, consider adverse effects of matcha separately from your caffeine total. That daily figure doesn't answer every personal question.

Pregnant and drinking matcha: how do you count the caffeine?

For a pregnant woman, habitual caffeine intake of up to 200 mg per day from all sources does not raise concern for the fetus in the cited assessment. That figure is neither an amount of matcha to drink nor a caffeine dose to aim for.

When preparing a bowl, you can weigh the powder. This helps you make the same preparation again, but it doesn't measure its caffeine. In the preparations studied using about 1/2 to 1 tsp (1 to 2 g) of matcha, caffeine ranged from 13 to 68 mg. These figures come from samples analyzed in Bavaria, not Kura-ge batches. The caffeine in a bowl of matcha depends on the powder and how much you use.

We therefore do not turn that range into “two bowls allowed.” It leaves out the other drinks you have throughout the day and does not tell you the caffeine content of a specific powder. Knowing how much powder you used at least gives you something concrete to include when reviewing your intake.

Does a matcha latte change anything during pregnancy?

Milk softens the taste, but it does not remove the caffeine from matcha. At a café, ask how much powder goes into the drink if you want to estimate your intake. At home, weighing it at least makes the matcha dose clear. The calculation remains an estimate when the caffeine in that powder has not been measured.

We'd keep the preparation simple: knowing the amount of powder helps you keep track of your intake. A latte from a café is harder to estimate if its matcha dose isn't listed. Either way, milk doesn't change the daily caffeine figure.

What if you are breastfeeding?

For breastfeeding, the cited assessment also uses 200 mg of caffeine per day for the mother; at that level, it finds no concern for the breastfed infant. Count the caffeine from your matcha alongside that from other drinks and foods throughout the day.

We don't recommend a set time to drink matcha after feeding: its caffeine content and what else you've consumed that day matter more than a fixed waiting period. If you notice an unusual change in your child, speak with a health professional. A cup of matcha alone doesn't establish the cause.

Can you give matcha to a child?

Matcha contains caffeine, and the Bavarian analysis cited above advises against offering it to children. We do not set an age at which a cup would become a good habit. For an everyday drink, we would choose water. A particular medical situation calls for individual advice.

Does hojicha let you avoid caffeine?

Hojicha is roasted Japanese green tea. Its toasted flavor doesn't mean it's caffeine-free. We can't promise a caffeine-free cup based on roasting alone. If that's what you need, water is a caffeine-free choice, even though it doesn't taste like tea.

Individual circumstances. A high-risk pregnancy, treatment, iron deficiency, or different medical instructions call for advice suited to your situation. Your midwife or doctor can help determine where caffeinated drinks fit into your day. That general figure doesn't replace your medical care.

If you experience digestive discomfort after matcha, different precautions apply.