There’s nothing chemically different between the caffeine in coffee and matcha. However, other compounds in matcha causes caffeine to be released more slowly. The result is that matcha’s caffeine boost lasts for 4-6 hours. Coffee will only provide a caffeine boost for up to 2 hours. Because matcha’s caffeine release is gentler, you also don’t get the sudden “caffeine crash” after 2 hours which you typically experience with coffee.