Which Green Tea Has the Highest EGCG?

EGCG is the most abundant catechin in green tea, and many people shop for it by name. The honest answer is that the data point to tea types and growing conditions, not to one winning brand.

Which brand has the highest EGCG?

We can’t name one, and we found no study that supports doing so. Studies test a few samples at one point in time, and results vary widely. A 2003 UCLA study of 18 teas found total flavanols, the family that includes EGCG, ranging from 21.2 to 103.2 mg per gram in regular teas across brands and types. A UK study found 51.5 to 84.3 mg of total catechins per gram in supermarket green teas.

Comparing across studies is also rough. Authors of a 2023 paper note there’s no agreed reference method for testing tea and its extracts.

Which tea has the most EGCG per gram?

A 2026 review from the University of Shizuoka lists EGCG per gram of Japanese tea. These are small sample sets, and the matcha figures are means of three selected samples from 2017 data.

Tea	EGCG, mg per gram
Sencha, autumn flush	82.4
Matcha sold in Japan, lower theanine	79.8
Matcha sold abroad, middle theanine	75.8
Sencha, second flush	75.1
Sencha, first flush	62.2 to 67.5
Matcha sold in Japan, higher theanine	57.3
Gyokuro	53

The top-quality shaded teas don’t lead this list. Shading suppresses catechin production, so high-grade matcha and gyokuro have less EGCG per gram than sun-grown, later-harvest leaf.

You may have seen a much bigger claim. A 2003 study reported that matcha offered 137 times the EGCG of one tea, China Green Tips, and at least three times the largest value then reported for other green teas. That’s a real result, but it was one comparison, and it doesn’t mean all matcha beats all green tea by that much.

Which has the most EGCG per serving?

This is where matcha pulls ahead, because you consume the whole leaf. With steeped tea, much of the EGCG stays behind.

The per-serving column is our math from the published figures, not a measured result.

Serving	Published figure	EGCG per serving (our estimate)
Matcha, 2 g powder	57.3 to 79.8 mg/g	About 115 to 160 mg
Sencha, first flush, 6 g in 260 ml, 90°C, 1 min	380 mg/L	About 99 mg
Gyokuro, 10 g in 60 ml, 60°C, 2 min	1,117 mg/L	About 67 mg
Sencha, second flush, 5 g in 200 ml, 80°C, 1 min	291 mg/L	About 58 mg
Sencha, first flush, 6 g in 170 ml, 70°C, 1 min	310 mg/L	About 53 mg
Brewed flavored green tea, 8 oz	19.97 mg/100 g (USDA)	About 47 mg
Ready-to-drink green tea, 8 oz	3.96 mg/100 g (USDA)	About 9 mg

The Japanese brews use far more leaf than a typical mug. A UK study assumed 2 g of tea per 200 ml cup, so don’t expect these amounts from one tea bag. The USDA ready-to-drink figure rests on just two data points.

Why do EGCG numbers vary so much?

• Shade: Shading before harvest lowers catechin levels.
• Season: Catechin content peaks in summer, and autumn-flush sencha has more catechins than first flush.
• Steep time: In the Shizuoka data, about 30% of the leaf’s EGCG was infused at 1.5 minutes, and only about 70% had come out by the fifth cup.
• Water temperature: Hotter water pulls out more. Cold or ice water markedly suppresses EGCG extraction.
• Water hardness: Hard water lowers the catechins and caffeine you get in the cup.
• Whole leaf or not: Matcha delivers the powder itself, which is why grams matter more than brewing.

How is brewed tea different from extracts?

Extracts are a separate category, and tea results don’t apply to them.

• Commercial extracts in one study were standardized from 15% to at least 90% EGCG.
• Most lost EGCG in storage. One fell from 91% to 83% in 23 months.
• A study of 19 supplements found labels inconsistent with actual contents.
• A study of 26 supplements found total catechins from 3.8% to 70.2%.

Are high EGCG doses safe?

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) separates the two clearly:

• Green tea infusions: EFSA considers catechins from hot-brewed tea generally safe, with no general sign of liver damage even at high intake. Average EGCG intake from infusions is 90 to 300 mg a day, and it may reach 866 mg in adults who drink large amounts.
• Supplements: These provide 5 to 1,000 mg of EGCG a day. EFSA found doses of 800 mg a day may be linked to initial signs of liver damage, and its experts couldn’t identify a safe dose.

The authors of the 2023 extract paper note that a newer EU regulation sets a maximum of 800 mg of EGCG a day for safety reasons. In the US, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health says liver injury, while uncommon, has been reported mainly with extract pills and capsules.

More EGCG also isn’t proven to be better. The same agency says definite conclusions can’t yet be reached for most of green tea’s uses. If you’re shopping for matcha, read about lead in matcha too, and keep in mind that decaf green tea may lose some EGCG in processing.