Japan’s heat-stressed matcha tea output struggles to meet soaring global demand
How did your country report this? Share your view in the comments.
Diverging Reports Breakdown
Japan’s heat-stressed matcha tea output struggles to meet soaring global demand
Record temperatures in Japan have curbed matcha green tea production this year, straining supplies and driving prices to all-time highs. Kyoto region, which accounts for about a quarter of Japan’s production of tencha – the stemmed leaves dried and ground into matcha – was hit by severe heatwaves last summer during Japan’s hottest year on record. Japan’s green tea exports, including matcha, rose 25% by value to 36.4 billion yen ($252 million) in 2024, driven largely by growing demand for powdered teas such as matcha. Global demand for matcha has surged in recent years, driven by millennials and Gen Z buyers seeking healthier choices, with hip cafes globally offering matcha lattes, smoothies, and desserts. The finely ground tea is prized as an antioxidant and for higher caffeine content than other green teas, experts say.
Item 1 of 2 A sign board reading ‘Matcha is out of stock’ is displayed in front of a tea store in Uji, Kyoto prefecture, Japan June 10, 2025. REUTERS/Michele Pek/File photo
Summary
Companies Kyoto’s heatwaves last summer hit matcha harvest
Japan’s green tea exports rose 25% in value in 2024
Tencha prices surge 170% year-on-year at Kyoto auction
Farmers need five years for new tea fields to mature
UJI, Japan, July 4 (Reuters) – Matcha lovers, brace your wallets!
Record temperatures in Japan have curbed matcha green tea production this year, straining supplies and driving prices to all-time highs amid booming global demand for the trendy beverage, farmers and industry officials said.
Sign up here.
The Kyoto region, which accounts for about a quarter of Japan’s production of tencha – the stemmed leaves dried and ground into matcha – was hit by severe heatwaves last summer during Japan’s hottest year on record, which led to weak yields in the recent April-May harvest.
Masahiro Yoshida, a sixth-generation farmer, was only able to harvest 1.5 tons of tencha this year, down a quarter from his typical harvest of two tons.
“Last year’s summer was so hot that it damaged the bushes, so we couldn’t pluck as many tea leaves,” he told Reuters from his storefront in Uji, south of Kyoto.
Global demand for matcha has surged in recent years, driven by millennials and Gen Z buyers seeking healthier choices, with hip cafes globally offering matcha lattes, smoothies, and desserts.
The finely ground tea is prized as an antioxidant and for higher caffeine content than other green teas.
Viral social media traction last autumn turbocharged demand, prompting some wholesalers such as Singapore-based Tealife to occasionally impose purchase limits.
Yuki Ishii, Tealife’s founder, said matcha demand from its customers grew ten-fold last year and is still rising, even as the amount available from Japan is declining.
“I’m basically always out of stock,” he said.
Japan produced 5,336 tons of tencha in 2024, according to the Japanese Tea Production Association, a nearly 2.7-fold increase from ten years earlier, as more farmers switched to the crop.
However, the association said it expects lower matcha output this year.
“I think many were hoping for a higher yield harvest this year to reduce some of the shortages … but it doesn’t seem like this is going to be the case,” said Marc Falzon, who buys tea from Uji farmers for his New Jersey-based milling firm, Ooika Co.
Japan’s green tea exports, including matcha, rose 25% by value to 36.4 billion yen ($252 million) in 2024, driven largely by growing demand for powdered teas such as matcha, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. By volume, Japan’s green tea exports rose 16%.
Tencha prices have climbed to record highs, with a May auction in Kyoto fetching 8,235 yen per kg, a 170% increase from a year earlier and well above the previous record of 4,862 yen set in 2016, according to the Global Japanese Tea Association.
Japanese producers are trying to increase matcha output, but that won’t solve the current shortage as the new fields they are planting need five years before they can be harvested, said Falzon.
“I suspect we’ll see even more dramatic price increases.”
($1 = 144.2000 yen)
Reporting by Michele Pek and Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Naveen Thukral and Sonali Paul
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab
Japan’s heat-stressed matcha tea output struggles to meet soaring global demand
Record temperatures in Japan have curbed matcha green tea production this year, straining supplies and driving prices to all-time highs. Kyoto region, which accounts for about a quarter of Japan’s production of tencha – the stemmed leaves dried and ground into matcha – was hit by severe heatwaves last summer during Japan’s hottest year on record. Japan’s green tea exports, including matcha, rose 25% by value to 36.4 billion yen ($252 million) in 2024, driven largely by growing demand for powdered teas such as matcha. The finely ground tea is prized as an antioxidant and for higher caffeine content than other green teas and is popular with millennials and Gen Z buyers seeking healthier choices. It is sold in hip cafes globally offering matcha lattes, smoothies, and desserts, with some wholesalers imposing purchase limits.
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what’s in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience.
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what’s in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways
By Michele Pek
UJI, Japan (Reuters) -Matcha lovers, brace your wallets!
Record temperatures in Japan have curbed matcha green tea production this year, straining supplies and driving prices to all-time highs amid booming global demand for the trendy beverage, farmers and industry officials said.
The Kyoto region, which accounts for about a quarter of Japan’s production of tencha – the stemmed leaves dried and ground into matcha – was hit by severe heatwaves last summer during Japan’s hottest year on record, which led to weak yields in the recent April-May harvest.
Advertisement Advertisement
Advertisement Advertisement
Masahiro Yoshida, a sixth-generation farmer, was only able to harvest 1.5 tons of tencha this year, down a quarter from his typical harvest of two tons.
“Last year’s summer was so hot that it damaged the bushes, so we couldn’t pluck as many tea leaves,” he told Reuters from his storefront in Uji, south of Kyoto.
Global demand for matcha has surged in recent years, driven by millennials and Gen Z buyers seeking healthier choices, with hip cafes globally offering matcha lattes, smoothies, and desserts.
The finely ground tea is prized as an antioxidant and for higher caffeine content than other green teas.
Advertisement Advertisement
Advertisement Advertisement
Viral social media traction last autumn turbocharged demand, prompting some wholesalers such as Singapore-based Tealife to occasionally impose purchase limits.
Yuki Ishii, Tealife’s founder, said matcha demand from its customers grew ten-fold last year and is still rising, even as the amount available from Japan is declining.
“I’m basically always out of stock,” he said.
Japan produced 5,336 tons of tencha in 2024, according to the Japanese Tea Production Association, a nearly 2.7-fold increase from ten years earlier, as more farmers switched to the crop.
However, the association said it expects lower matcha output this year.
Advertisement Advertisement
Advertisement Advertisement
“I think many were hoping for a higher yield harvest this year to reduce some of the shortages … but it doesn’t seem like this is going to be the case,” said Marc Falzon, who buys tea from Uji farmers for his New Jersey-based milling firm, Ooika Co.
Japan’s green tea exports, including matcha, rose 25% by value to 36.4 billion yen ($252 million) in 2024, driven largely by growing demand for powdered teas such as matcha, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. By volume, Japan’s green tea exports rose 16%.
Tencha prices have climbed to record highs, with a May auction in Kyoto fetching 8,235 yen per kg, a 170% increase from a year earlier and well above the previous record of 4,862 yen set in 2016, according to the Global Japanese Tea Association.
Japanese producers are trying to increase matcha output, but that won’t solve the current shortage as the new fields they are planting need five years before they can be harvested, said Falzon.
“I suspect we’ll see even more dramatic price increases.”
($1 = 144.2000 yen)
(Reporting by Michele Pek and Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Naveen Thukral and Sonali Paul)