Matcha Mania turns green dust into gold

Tokyo – When Chitose Nagao retired after nearly three decades in advertising to start Matcha cafe, she never imagined that the lines would deal with their store before opening. By the middle of the afternoon, the tin of the dust of the shelves were sold out, while a constant flow of mostly abroad waited to try its most green mixtures.

Her store, Atelier Matcha, is one of the lucky ones. Although Matcha’s supplies are decreasing even in Japan due to a global mania, Nagao partnership, cultivated with Marukyu Koyamaen, a 300-year-old producer of Kyoto tea, pays off.

“When I heard that all their tea was sitting unsold in a warehouse during Covid, I wanted to do something,” Nagao said. Four years later, she has two stores in Japan, one in the city of Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam, and a new exit, which will soon open in the city of Sebu, Philippines.

Japan consumes the 12th century match, most of all, in highly ritualized tea ceremonies that require only dust spots. The search has jumped in recent years as a reputation of Matcha as an antioxidant superfood spread over Tiktok. The pandemic tourism boom has also increased prices higher.

According to Japan’s Ministry of Finance, Japan exported 36.4 billion yen ($ 247 million) green tea last year, four times more than a decade. About 44% were bound to the United States, mainly in powder form, such as Matcha.

In an attempt to deal with tensions in aging agricultural communities in Japan, the Japanese government is considering subsidizing farmers to encourage them to dedicate more areas to Tencha, the type of tea used to prepare a match.

Tencha production is more lucrative but also more laborious as the buds must be protected from the sun to bring out their distinctive herbaceous taste. There are not enough hands to harvest, steam and dry the leaves before grinding them, manufacturers say.

Tencha prices at this spring auction in Kyoto jump 170% From the previous year to 8,235 yen per kilogram, the Global Japanese Tea Association. This broke the previous record of 4,862 yen per kilogram set in 2016.

Many retailers have also reported that the prices of matches have doubled in the last year, and finding a small dust tin is becoming more difficult, even in Tokyo.

The stores set restrictions on buying to make their stocks continue longer, prevent the accumulation and repel unauthorized distributors. However, the match remains a popular souvenir for a record number of tourists visiting Japan.

Many online stores sold out months ago when US buyers rushed to stock up before the expected tariffs.

Kaminari Issa, which sells everything from Matcha beer to Matcha Cream Puffs in its four stores in the Tokyo Asacua area, said receiving an email request for a tone match is not uncommon.

“We’re happy,” said Mikko Tweed, who manages one of the stores. “But there is only as much we can sell.”

Its store sells the match, ground from the first crop of the season, when the tea leaves are delicate, which is considered the highest quality.

Like many others in trade, Sugawara is worried that the record summer of the heat wave can reduce the harvesting of tea next year and increase prices even higher.

The competition for the source and production of a enough match is so intense that forced That enThe largest seller in the world from bottled green tea to create a specialized division in May.

The company predicts the group of the group abroad to increase by 11% this year and raises prices by 50% to 100% for several products from September over higher costs for raw materials and labor.

ITO EN has dedicated contracts with farmers who supply it with 7.,000 tonnes of plain green tea every year, but only about 600 tonnes of Tencha.

The persuasion of farmers to grow more Tencha is a challenge as many worry that the current boom can reduce, said Ito En.

“Matcha’s popularity was amazing. Our own factories and all our performers are JAM–Packaged, ”said Yasutaka Yokomichi, manager of the new Matcha Division of Ito En.

He said one of his priorities is to provide enough mills to grind the Tencha powder leaves and pack it, which may include fresh investments to expand my own ITO EN facilities. It can take an hour to only grind 40 grams of mat, as the heat resulting from a faster process can impair its quality.

Atelier Matcha’s Nagao said users’ training for different Matcha degrees may be the only viable option.

As a devoted to Sado or the “Tea Road”, the first -class dust is not necessary to make a good Matcha Açai bowl, she said. As an entrepreneur, she also has her views of the next big thing.

“Hojica,” Nagao says, referring to another type of tea with a more core profile and less caffeine. “Look, there is only one left today.”