Can Dogs Eat Matcha?

In this research you will know the answer to the query “Can Dogs Eat Matcha?“.

Matcha powder is made from the leaves of a type of green tea.

Over 1400 years ago China used powdered tea leaves for the first time!

The tea leaves are cultivated and ground into powder using great care and attention which makes matcha a very special form of powdered tea.

The level of detail includes shading the tea plants from the sun and not letting the stones used to grind the leaves get too hot as this can burn the powder and change the taste.

Besides making tea matcha powder is also used for other purposes. As a coloring and flavoring it is often found in foods such as cakes ice cream and even Starbucks lattes. 

Is matcha safe to give to your dog?

Can dogs have matcha powder?

It is good to know that dogs can eat matcha powder. 

This powder does not contain anything that will poison your dog.

It could also be viewed as a superpower in the same way that some foods are viewed as superfoods.

Green teas in general contain relatively low levels of antioxidants and amino acids but matcha powder contains high levels of both. 

I will continue to explain why antioxidants and amino acids might be so important to our dogs’ health.

Our dogs may not like matcha powder for all the reasons listed above.

Since it is derived from tea leaves it contains very small quantities of caffeine which is toxic for dogs in large doses.

The fact that dogs can consume matcha powder does not mean that they should eat anything that contains it- such as the cakes and ice cream mentioned earlier. 

What is the nutrition of matcha?

Antioxidants and amino acids are the two super nutrients in matcha powder.

Matcha contains a lot of antioxidants right?

The majority of us have heard about antioxidants and know that they are extremely beneficial to us (and our dogs) but are only vaguely aware of why. 

Dogs can fight free radicals with the help of antioxidants.

Fortunately free radicals are not some funky and weird political group whose members wander the streets carrying guns and chanting loudly.

Floating inside your dogs body these compounds could cause serious harm such as heart disease or cancer. 

Besides matcha powder other varieties of green tea also contain high levels of antioxidants.

Nevertheless a quick comparison reveals just how vast the difference is between matcha powder and the rest of the field.

	Matcha	Green tea
Antioxidants (per oz.)	80 mg	24 mg

Compared to regular green tea matcha contains up to three times as many antioxidants per ounce.

Compared to normal green tea matcha has about 80 mg of antioxidants per ounce.

Does matcha contain lots of amino acids?

The amino acids in a dogs body are so important that they are referred to as building blocks because they are involved in so many fundamental processes.

Among these functions are digestion support energy production and hormone production. 

We should not fool ourselves.

A matcha powder does not contain anything close to the variety or quantity of amino acids your dog needs to survive.

However matcha powder does contain an important amino acid in quite high concentrations. 

The amino acid in question is L-Theanine. 

There is a very specific way in which this might help your dog.

Stress and anxiety can be reduced in humans with L- threonine.

However it seems that our dogs suffer from a widespread anxiety epidemic.

A Finnish study of almost 14000 dogs found that 70% of them exhibited problem behaviors such as excessive barking and destructiveness.

Its worth repeating that 72.5% of the dogs were stressed. 

What is the level of l-threonine in matcha compared to that found in other green teas?

The content of l- threonine in matcha could be nine times greater. 

After finding out what matcha powders hidden potential is when compared to green tea I would like to see how it compares to other antioxidant-rich foods. 

Matcha vs other antioxidant foods?

I mentioned earlier how antioxidants are crucial for our dogs ability to fight some pretty scary conditions like heart disease and cancer.

Foods and food products that contain high levels of these substances are not limited to matcha powder.

Dark chocolate pecans blueberries goji berries acai berries and strawberries are other antioxidant-rich foods. 

Before you head to the grocery store to get some of these items let me make two points.

It may contain high levels of antioxidants but dark chocolate should not be fed to dogs as it is highly toxic to them.

In addition none of these foods contain the number of antioxidants that matcha powder does.

It contains up to seven times as many antioxidants as goji berries and fifteen times as many antioxidants as blueberries. 

How should I prepare matcha for my dog?

Typically 2 grams of matcha powder is mixed with 70 grams (70 ml) of hot water to make a cup of matcha.

Mixing the powder with hot water makes it easier. 

You should wait until it has cooled completely before feeding it to your dog. 

Then they add it to their main meal as gravy. 

Then we can move on to our next question.

How much matcha powder should I feed to my dog?

After reading the last section the simple answer is that you should feed your dog very little matcha as it is very potent expensive and contains only one of the ten amino acids that dogs need in their diet. 

Remember that most of us feed our dogs kibble or canned food as part of their complete diet. 

Dog foods that are complete contain all ten of these amino acids in the exact quantities that your dog needs. 

Next I would like to know how easy it is to buy a matcha and how much it costs?

Is matcha powder widely available?

While matcha powder is widely available it can be quite expensive depending on how you look at it.

Walmart currently sells sixteen ounces of its best-selling powder for about $21. 

According to the earlier recommendation (using 2 grams of powder per cup) this is the equivalent of over two hundred cups of matcha each costing 10 cents. 

Consider other foods that are high in antioxidants. A 48-ounce bag of blueberries will cost you about $8 at Walmart. 

Matcha powder costs about ten times as much as blueberries. 

Even though matcha powder contains 15 times as many antioxidants as blueberries it still offers a better value. 

To conclude this research about dogs and matcha I would like to mention a few popular food products that contain matcha. 

There are no healthy products listed below so based on that alone your dog should not consume them. 

Should dogs eat matcha ice cream?

Sugar and fat are abundant in all forms of ice cream. 

The same effect will occur on your dog as it will on you when you eat too much of it. 

In addition most dogs will have trouble digesting milk products. 

Dogs may be able to digest their mothers milk as puppies but as they age this ability is lost. 

The last warning about ice cream and dogs is that some ice creams are sugar-free and many of these contain xylitol which is highly poisonous. 

Should dogs eat matcha cake?

Most cakes are not harmful to dogs; however specific ingredients you might put in them might be. Raisins and chocolate are two of the most common ones. 

I will not repeat myself over the dangers of sugar. 

Dogs cannot be poisoned by flour or eggs. 

Should dogs eat matcha latte?

Dogs should not consume coffee in any form even if it is diluted with milk and matcha. 

Dogs are poisoned by caffeine.

If you want to read more about dog food tips read here: Dog Food Tips and Tricks.

Can Dogs Eat Matcha? (Watch Video)