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Comment by Xcelerate | Hacker News Reader

I’ve heard that bitterness affects children more intensely. So I wonder how much of it is an acquired taste vs bitterness just becoming “milder” over time.

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My three year old loves the taste of matcha. Even when I don't prepare it quite right and it turns out very bitter. He's pretty picky about near everything else. I think it's acquisition through mimicry.

Matcha is one of the more concentrated amino acids drinks you can make; given how hungry I remember being as a kid, I bet it tastes like liquid gold. And if you’re in a climate that tolerates rhododendrons you can plant a camellia sinensis bush for it straight from the vine as a bridge from matcha to steeped tea, steaming and roasting, etc.

> Matcha is one of the more concentrated amino acids drinks

Matcha is virtually entirely water. Multiple sources say that matcha has about 270 mg of amino acids per serving. Even if matcha powder were 100% amino acids (which would taste vile), a 2g serving would still be 2g.

Milk has about 4.5 grams of amino acid content per 100g (less than half a cup).

Yes, that’s one of the reasons dairy matcha lattes taste so good: not only is it more densely amino, but it’s also more broadly amino (e.g. milk is not particularly high in L-theanine), and the sweetness of the milk offsets the bitterness of the matcha, which lets you ramp up the density further beyond 2g if you like.

What I mean to say is that matcha is almost devoid of amino acid content. It’s basically a small cup of water. The small amounts of various compounds may have some beneficial effects, but amino acids are abundant in many foods and drinks. You don’t need to get them in micro doses from matcha.

Matcha may be tasty. It’s not a good source of aminos.

Okay.

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