Matcha, a Japanese green tea powder, has surged in popularity in recent years, but shortages and increased tariffs are forcing Austin tea shops to raise prices. 

Over the past three years, matcha retail sales in the U.S. have increased by 86%, according to the Associated Press. Amy March, co-founder and executive chef of Austin-based tea shop The Steeping Room, said demand for matcha at her business started skyrocketing in summer 2024, which was a major factor in her decision to focus on the tea side of the business full-time. 

“The matcha costs at least 2 1/2 times what we were paying last summer for us to purchase,” March said.

As a result, March said her business is making decisions to stop carrying some high-grade matcha from farmers in Japan due to increased costs. 

The U.S. currently has a 15% tariff on imports from Japan. March said tariffs are greatly affecting her business. 

“The idea that this is something that the business or the country that I’m importing from is paying that tariff is incorrect,” March said. “We get the bill.” 

One Japanese matcha manufacturing company March previously bought from charged around $17 to $25 for a 20-gram bag last year before additional expenses like shipping, tariffs and packaging. Now, the same tea costs $50–$56 for 20 grams, she said in a message.

Marketing professor Raji Srinivasan said tariffs can increase the price of matcha for some small businesses, like The Steeping Room, and cause irregularities in supply. 

“If Japan is able to export matcha to other countries where it can actually sell it faster than it can to the United States, there’s going to be a diversion of the supply from the United States to other countries,” Srinivasan said. 

Government senior Tasmuna Omar hosts “Matcha Mondays” to fundraise for the Bengali Students Association. She said she buys Ujido matcha, a variety sourced from Kyoto and found at H-E-B for about $25, and has not noticed a price increase. 

Ujido matcha prices have not changed, the company confirmed on its website. As of Oct. 2, the specific Ujido matcha Omar buys is out of stock at H-E-B and sold out on Ujido’s website.

Bigger stores, like H-E-B, may not be seeing price increases and low stock in comparison to small businesses due to their negotiation power and their ability to stock in advance, allowing them to have “more flexibility in their operations,” Srinivasan said. 

During a recent business trip to Japan, March said some companies refused to sell her their products, even with growing U.S. demand for matcha powder. Some matcha growers in Japan do not sell their product outside their country, March said. 

“They’re 300-year-old companies,” March said. “They know that a North American flurry is going to come and it’s going to go.”