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Agence France-Presse

Of the 25 types of matcha on the menu at Kettl Tea, a minimalist matcha bar in Los Angeles, all but four are out of stock, due to a global shortage driven by the powdered Japanese tea’s social media stardom.
“One of the things we struggle with is telling customers that, unfortunately, we don’t have what they want,” says Zach Mangan, the shop’s founder.
With matcha’s deep grassy aroma, intense colour and pick-me-up effects, its popularity “has grown just exponentially over the last decade, but much more so in the last two to three years”, the 40-year-old explains.
It is now “a cultural touchpoint in the Western world”, found everywhere from ice-cream flavour boards to Starbucks.

This has caused the market for matcha to nearly double over a year, Mangan says.
“No matter what we try, there’s just not more to buy.”
Thousands of miles away in Sayama, a city about 40km (25 miles) northwest of the Japanese capital Tokyo, Masahiro Okutomi – the 15th generation to run his family’s tea business – is overwhelmed by demand.
“I had to put on our website that we are not accepting any more matcha orders,” he says.

Producing the powder is an intensive process: the leaves, called tencha, are shaded for several weeks before harvest, to concentrate the taste and nutrients.
They are then carefully deveined by hand, dried and finely ground in a machine.
It takes years of training to make matcha properly, Okutomi says.
“It’s a long-term endeavour requiring equipment, labour and investment … I’m glad the world is taking an interest in our matcha … but in the short term, it’s almost a threat – we just can’t keep up.”
The matcha boom has been fuelled by online influencers like Andie Ella, who has more than 600,000 subscribers on YouTube and who started her own brand of matcha products.
At the pastel-pink pop-up shop she opened in Tokyo’s hip Harajuku district, dozens of fans were excitedly waiting to take a photo with the 23-year-old Frenchwoman or buy cans of strawberry- or white-chocolate-flavoured matcha.
“Matcha is visually very appealing,” says Ella.

To date, her matcha brand, produced in Japan’s rural Mie region, has sold 133,000 cans. Launched in November 2023, it now has eight employees.
“Demand has not stopped growing,” she says.
In 2024, matcha accounted for over half of the 8,798 tonnes of green tea exported from Japan, according to agriculture ministry data – twice as much as a decade ago.
Tokyo tea shop Jugetsudo, in the touristy former fish market area of Tsukiji, is trying to control its stock levels given the escalating demand.
“We don’t strictly impose purchase limits, but we sometimes refuse to sell large quantities to customers suspected of reselling,” says store manager Shigehito Nishikida.
“In the past two or three years, the craze has intensified: customers now want to make matcha themselves, like they see on social media,” he adds.












View this post on Instagram























A post shared by Milia Matcha (@miliamatcha)



Anita Jordan, a 49-year-old Australian tourist in Japan, says her “kids are obsessed with matcha”.
“They sent me on a mission to find the best one,” she says with a laugh.
The global matcha market might falter if US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Japanese products – currently 10 per cent – rise to a threatened 24 per cent.
Shortages and tariffs mean “we do have to raise prices. We don’t take it lightly,” says Mangan at Kettl Tea, though it has not dampened demand so far.
“Customers are saying: ‘I want matcha, before it runs out.’”
At Kettl Tea, matcha can be mixed with milk in a latte or enjoyed straight, hand-whisked with hot water in a ceramic bowl to better appreciate its subtle taste.
It is not a cheap treat: the latter option costs at least US$10 per glass, while 20 grams (0.7 ounces) of powder to make the drink at home is priced between US$25 and US$150.

Japan’s government is encouraging tea producers to farm on a larger scale to reduce costs.
But that risks sacrificing quality, and “in small rural areas, it’s almost impossible”, grower Okutomi says.
The number of tea plantations in Japan has fallen to a quarter of what it was 20 years ago, as farmers age and find it difficult to secure successors, he adds.
“Training a new generation takes time … it can’t be improvised,” Okutomi says.


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Food and Drinks

No more matcha? How demand for powdered Japanese tea is leading to global shortages

Matcha is added to drinks at Kettl Tea in Los Angeles, California. The rising popularity of the powdered Japanese tea is creating challenges for producers, who are struggling to keep up with demand. Photo: AFP

Kettl Tea customers with their matcha drinks in Los Angeles. Photo: AFP

Masahiro Okutomi at his farm in Sayama, Japan. Photo: AFP

Matcha for drinks at Kettl Tea in Los Angeles, California. Photo: AFP

Okutomi at his tea field in Sayama. Photo: AFP

How a Cantonese-American chef in New York uses MSG to celebrate his culture

Eng and Melnick say that one of their favourite recipes in the book is for steamed garlic prawns over mung bean vermicelli, given how quick it is to make. Photo: Alex Lau

Cantonese-American chef Calvin Eng of Bonnie’s in New York has released his debut cookbook Salt Sugar MSG: Recipes and Stories from a Cantonese American Home, written with his fiancée, which uses MSG in recipes that celebrate his roots and family. Photo: Alex Lau

Roasted mushroom lo mai fan (sticky rice) is one of the recipes in Salt Sugar MSG. Photo: Alex Lau

Eng and Melnick with their son, Levi. Photo: Alex Lau

The cover of Eng and Melnick’s cookbook. Photo: Alex Lau

The FFLT (fried fish, lettuce and tomato) sandwich from Salt Sugar MSG. Photo: Alex Lau

Steamed garlic prawns over mung bean vermicelli, which Eng and Melnick say is one of their favourite recipes in the book. Photo: Alex Lau

Sweetened egg custard with ginger honey syrup. The dish was inspired by Hong Kong egg tarts and tofu pudding. Photo: Alex Lau

Gen Z Fukushima farmer grows kiwis to show progress since 2011 nuclear disaster in tsunami

Japanese farmer Takuya Haraguchi on his kiwi farm in Okuma, Fukushima. AFP

Takuya Haraguchi, 25, on his kiwi farm in Okuma, Fukushima. The Japanese farmer aims to show what the area, now deemed safe to grow food, “is really like”. Photo: AFP

Haraguchi, from Osaka, was 11 when the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami caused a meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Photo: AFP

Haraguchi tends to kiwi saplings at ReFruits, his farm in Okuma. Photo: AFP

A worker at Haraguchi’s farm. Photo: AFP

A pickup truck at Haraguchi’s ReFruits farm promotes its produce. The 25-year-old regards the destruction that Fukushima saw in 2011 not as a blight, but as an opportunity. Photo: AFP

ReFruits covers 2.5 hectares, and Haraguchi hopes to harvest the farm’s first kiwis next year. Photo: AFP

As well as running his farm, Haraguchi is travelling internationally to share his story and that of the area. Photo: AFP

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Dotonbori is Osaka’s number-one nightlife district. The district is known for its bars, restaurants, entertainment and large illuminated billboards, including one that is a giant crab with moving legs and another that depicts Spider-Man perched on a clam. Photo: Osaka Convention & Tourism Bureau/dpa

The Tsutenkaku Tower is the tallest landmark in Osaka’s Shinsekai neighbourhood. Photo: Osaka Convention & Tourism Bureau/dpa

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The Glico Man overlooks the Dotonbori Canal. Photo: Osaka Convention & Tourism Bureau/dpa

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Bartenders at Chandu create drinks with a narrative that are loosely based on history. Photo: The Robertson House by the Crest Collection

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Chandu’s Mata Hari cocktail is named after a Dutch dancer and courtesan. Photo: Facebook/Chandu

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Oriental Elixir’s Malabar Tamarind cocktail combines the sour ingredient with roasted cherry tomato gin, dry vermouth. Photo: Instagram/@oriental.elixir

Junior the Pocket Bar is a small, 25-seater speakeasy that tasks itself with changing the menu completely every few months. Photo: Philipp Meier

A cocktail titled Sesame from the Korea-inspired menu at Junior the Pocket Bar. Photo: Junior the Pocket Bar

Jade Harbour is part of The Bund menu currently offered at Junior the Pocket Bar, inspired by the Shanghai district. Credit: Junior the Pocket Bar

For its Korean Joseon dynasty-inspired menu, the interiors of Junior the Pocket Bar featured dragons. Photo: Philipp Meier

Roxy is a hip-hop-inspired speakeasy hidden inside the Miss Fitz restaurant in Singapore’s Marina Bay. Photo: Facebook/Roxy

The drinks at Roxy are based on classics, but are given their own spin. Photo: Facebook/Roxy

Last Word has finessed tipples that were invented in the 1920s. Photo: Philipp Meier

Last Word’s eponymous cocktail is a classic, blending gin, maraschino liqueur, green chartreuse and lime. Photo: Instagram/@lastwordsg

Lifestyle

Food & Drink

‘We just can’t keep up’ to the demand for matcha, says one tea farmer in Japan, as social media fuels a worldwide obsession


‘We just can’t keep up’ to the demand for matcha, says one tea farmer in Japan, as social media fuels a worldwide obsession.


Social media

Food and agriculture

Japan

No more matcha? How demand for powdered Japanese tea is leading to global shortages

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}‘We just can’t keep up’ to the demand for matcha, says one tea farmer in Japan, as social media fuels a worldwide obsession

‘We just can’t keep up’ to the demand for matcha, says one tea farmer in Japan, as social media fuels a worldwide obsession