The Matcha Shortage

Increased demand

The popularity of matcha continues to grow rapidly. Demand is currently greater the supply, and producers are struggling to keep up. This creates clear challenges that risk leading to even greater price increases and reduced availability in the future.

Smaller harvest

This year's harvest, 2025, has unfortunately not reached the levels hoped for. Unstable and less favorable weather conditions have affected both quantity and quality, further worsening the situation.

Several smaller farms have also chosen to only harvest the first crop. The reasons are several: partly to let the tea plants rest and recover during the rest of the year but also because the lack of labor makes it difficult to handle later harvests. In addition, it is less economically advantageous since later harvests are generally sold at a lower price.

Looking to the future

If this trend continues, it may eventually become necessary to broaden the origin of matcha. Countries such as China, Korea and Vietnam are beginning to establish themselves as alternatives and could play an increasingly important role in meeting global demand. At the same time, the question remains whether these regions can achieve the same quality and traditional craftsmanship that Japanese matcha is known for.

But there is still hope in Japan. Only 6% of Japanese tea production is matcha and historically, with every increase in demand for matcha have many tea growers chosen to switch from growing sencha to producing tencha – the raw material that is then ground into matcha. This provides a clear opportunity for the supply to grow in line with market needs.