Asia-Pacific

Matcha Shortage Spikes Price Amid Rising Global Demand

Published

By Patrick Chen/Irene Lin

Open in App

Recent heat waves combined with an aging matcha industry in Japan, a heartland for the beloved powdered green tea, are spiking the price, creating uncertainty for businesses that rely on these specially cultivated tea leaves for survival.

A bitter, rich tea drink enjoyed all year round around the world. Japanese matcha has attracted some loyal fans and creative minds in the culinary world. The traditional stone-milled green tea has been integrated into a variety of lattes, sweets and baked goods. But NOW, it comes with a higher price tag. In the US, which consumes about a third of all matcha every year, some customers are feeling the pinch.

I have matcha every morning. It's actually my go-to drink. It is kind of how I start the day. What have I noticed about the pricing? It's definitely started to go up, especially if you want to maintain the quality.

Serving matcha every day, cafes and tea shops in the US say the price hike has come as a shock.

So the price has skyrocketed, for us it's more than doubled and we weren't expecting that at all.

Our matcha drinks, we sell them in the hundreds every day. And we go through many hundreds of kilograms every month or two. So yeah, it's a lot of matcha.

While matcha green tea growers may be glad to see a boom in popularity, many are struggling to meet the global demand. In Japan, crops have dwindled due to recent heatwaves and aging farmers.

It is a real delight for tea producers that Japan’s matcha is drawing such attention. I'm glad the world is taking an interest in our matcha, but it's been overwhelming. In the short term, almost a threat — we just can't keep up.

On top of that, the US has placed a 15 percent tariff on Japanese goods, adding to these businesses’ concerns.

It's this perfect storm, or imperfect storm of tariffs, which are unrelated to the fact that we're having such a high demand and such an increase in prices already. So it's unfortunate timing, obviously. And you know, we have to make some hard decisions of, you know what, you know what pricing is going to look like. There's limits. Obviously, we can't just, you know, continue to raise prices forever.

As the supply of this delicate powdered green tea drops, and its price stays high, it raises the question of how much longer it will dominate people’s drink orders.