This is the reason why the price of matcha is increasing as demand for the Japanese green tea is through the roof
A global phenomenon is brewing over matcha, the Japanese bright green tea, as huge demand collides with low supply. The vivid green ingredient is already a star in matcha lattes, doughnuts, and viral recipes, and is fast becoming hard to find or unaffordable for many.
Post‑pandemic tourism to Japan, aided by a weak yen, has increased foreign interest in authentic matcha products. At the same time, social media has inspired cafés and home cooks worldwide to invest in the product. As one U.S. importer, Lauren Purvis of Mizuba Tea Co., reports: “Some cafes are even asking for a kilo a day. They’re desperate to keep up.”
Matcha “offers a compelling alternative” to coffee
Japan’s agricultural ministry said that Matcha production nearly tripled between 2010 and 2023; green tea exports, including matcha, also rose 25% last year to 36.4bn yen ($250m).
“We’re seeing a clear shift in Gen Z preferences. Many are moving away from high-caffeine beverages and alcohol in favour of functional drinks,” Alex Centner, the sales director at specialty coffee roaster MoonGoat Coffee, told PerfectDailyGrind. “With its lower caffeine content and well-documented health benefits, such as extremely high antioxidants, it offers a compelling alternative.”
With supply squeezed and demand booming, prices have jumped, and some tea masters and retailers in Kyoto now limit in‑store sales to one can per customer. Tokyo’s Chazen tea‑ceremony chain reports prices up by roughly 30%, and delivery times stretched from a few days to over a week.
Atsuko Mori, director of the Kyoto-based Camellia Tea Ceremony, told the BBC that it’s “a bit sad” to see matcha used in cooking, where its flavour is often lost; “Matcha is the highest grade of tea and it’s so special to us. So there’s a bit of a contradiction when I hear stories about how it’s resold or used in food,” she said.
Some people, however, are looking at the bright side: Tea master Rie Takeda works for Chazen, a tea ceremony chain based in Tokyo. She told the BBC: “”[The demand] is good. It’s a gateway for more people to know about Japanese culture.”
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