Simplified analysis of flavanols in matcha tea

•Extraction and analysis of flavanols from matcha tea is simplified.•Fully validated by determining accuracy, intraday and interday repetability.•Simplified method successfully applied to traditional matcha teas and powdered green teas including Benifuuki.•Method is suitable for analysis of methylated epigallocatechin gallate.•Time-saving, energy-saving and accurate analyses of flavanols in matcha tea. Matcha tea contains only the softer parts of the tea leaves and is finely ground. Therefore, extraction of the flavanols for analysis by HPLC is possible by a simpler protocol compared to the ISO 14502-2 method. 21 different simplified extraction methods were screened and five of them gave equal results as the ISO 14502-2 method. The simplest and fastest method consists of extraction by ethanol + water (7 + 3, v + v) at room temperature with ultrasonication. This method was validated by determining accuracy, intraday and interday repeatability. The simplified method was successfully applied to four traditional matcha teas and two powdered green teas from Japan. This method paves the way for time-saving, energy-saving and accurate analyses of flavanols in matcha tea.