More than an hour before Nakamura Tokichi Honten tea shop opens its doors, a long line of people stretches along the outer wall, extending all the way to the main street in Uji town. As the doors open, each person is allowed to purchase only one small tin of matcha powder.
The queue includes individuals from various nationalities: the United States, Thailand, the Netherlands, China, Greece, Argentina, and more. Many have spent several days in Uji, a picturesque town near Kyoto renowned for its centuries-old tea roasting and handcrafted tea cup traditions, just to secure this precious matcha.
This scene encapsulates the global matcha frenzy.
Jiro Katahira, a 41-year-old farmer with tousled hair and an unwavering passion for tea, reveals he’s “inundated with emails” from merchants, cafes, and retailers worldwide, all pleading for this umami-rich green powder.
“Someone even wrote from Benin—I had to look it up on a map,” Katahira chuckles, standing amidst his lush green tea fields, with Mount Fuji’s silhouette faintly visible in the distance. “I tell them I operate on a small scale, not mass production. They say, ‘I’ll invest in you to expand.’ But that’s not happening.”
Katahira only began small-scale matcha production last year, yet this year’s 75 kg yield has generated substantial profits. Next year’s entire output is already sold out. He calls it a “double boom”—as the “matcha bubble” spills over into green tea, tripling leaf prices. For him, debts will soon be cleared, new machinery ordered, and requests continue to pour in relentlessly.
From Tokyo’s tea ceremonies to California’s matcha lattes, matcha powder is sweeping the globe. Its bittersweet flavor, vibrant green hue perfect for social media, and the post-pandemic health consciousness wave have fueled its explosion.
No longer confined to Japan enthusiasts or health aficionados, matcha now graces Starbucks menus and thousands of trendy cafes worldwide.
“Uji matcha is the best in the world,” says Sam Giordano, a New Yorker in line. “I came early to secure my portion here, then I’ll head to other shops opening later. I’m not buying souvenirs—I’m a true matcha addict.”
Statistics show Japan’s powdered green tea exports surged 75% to 27 billion yen ($177 million) in 2024, tripling since 2019. In the first seven months of 2025, Japan exported twice as much matcha (by value) as in all of 2020. Prices for machine-harvested Uji leaves used for matcha have tripled to over 14,000 yen/kg, according to the JA Zen-Noh Kyoto Agricultural Cooperative.
“Honestly, I don’t know how many more times I can apologize,” shares Kazuhiko Nakajima, international business director at Japan’s largest tea company, Ito En. “We’re turning away all new customers. This year’s entire output is sold out.”
THE WORLD’S MATCHA CRAZE
The global thirst for matcha has plunged Japan’s agriculture into a crisis akin to its previous rice shortage, symbolizing the return of inflation after three decades of deflation. The question arises: Can Japan’s aging, fragmented, and under-mechanized farming sector keep pace with demand and seize this opportunity?
Some fear it’s just a “fad,” like “Dubai chocolate” or “kale,” but many believe it’s a long-term shift akin to coffee. Either way, the immediate priority is… keeping up with orders.
“It’s insane. Everyone in the supply chain wants to scale up,” says Jason Eng, business development representative at Kametani Tea Company. “But every link faces severe challenges.”
The number of farms in Katahira’s Shizuoka region has dwindled from 40 to 6, as elderly farmers lack successors. “I’m the ‘Shizuoka panda,’” Katahira quips, “because young farmers here are as rare as pandas.”
Meanwhile, Japan’s traditional green tea consumption has plummeted since the 1980s, causing prices to drop and discouraging farmers from investing. Domestic tea production fell from 96,000 tons (2008) to 74,000 tons (2024).
To produce more matcha, farmers must grow tencha leaves, specially cultivated and processed for grinding into powder. Many are switching from sencha (everyday green tea) to tencha—but this takes at least five years before harvesting.
In central Japan, Kawasaki Kiko, the largest tea processing machinery manufacturer, reports supplying 15 production lines annually now, compared to just 3 in 2020.
“The phrase ‘wait till next year’ has become ‘build another factory,’” says Haruhiko Yamada, business director.
The Japanese government offers subsidies covering up to 50% of investment costs, encouraging automation and productivity increases.
However, while factories mechanize, fields lag. Hilly terrain in many regions makes machinery use difficult, and population aging outpaces agricultural modernization.
“GREEN COCA-COLA”
Major brands like Ito En and Suntory aim to make green tea a global icon. Baseball star Shohei Ohtani features in Oi Ocha ads—Ito En’s bottled tea brand—with the tagline: “To become a better version of myself, there are things I never change—my green tea.”
Ito En plans to expand to over 60 countries by 2029 and 100 by 2040, aspiring to make green as ubiquitous as Coca-Cola’s red. However, the boom has tripled sencha and tencha prices, forcing them to secure supply before expanding.
As Japan struggles with supply, China—with superior land and labor resources—is ramping up green tea and matcha production, even using artificial chlorophyll for brighter matcha.
“If China truly focuses on quality, current price surges could cool in 2-3 years,” says Rikiya Sato, director at Marubeni food trading company.
He warns Japan risks losing its quality standard if it chases volume: “If everyone rushes into matcha, quality will drop, and other countries will replicate it.”
As corporations push industrialization, traditional tea growers worry matcha’s “soul”—once a symbol of Zen and tranquility—is being swept into global commercial currents.
Source: Financial Times
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