On a hot weekend morning in Atlanta, the line at Shogun’s matcha pop-up wraps around the stand. They sell out of cups, then ice, then matcha, sometimes within just three hours. Eventually, owner Danny Tirmizi has no choice but to shut down.

“It literally broke the market,” Tirmizi said. 

Yet beneath the surface of this apparent success lies a growing challenge. Tirmizi is one of many business owners feeling the crunch of the global matcha shortage, an issue rooted in high demand, limited supply and a tradition-based farming system that isn’t built to navigate the surplus. 

The crisis is brewing, and Atlanta’s caught in the cup.