TOKYO, Sep 27 (News On Japan) –
Japan’s tea tradition has lengthy been woven into on a regular basis life, however an unprecedented world growth in matcha is forcing a shift that’s placing sencha, the acquainted inexperienced tea, beneath stress.
A matcha specialty retailer in Tokyo’s Asakusa, common with international vacationers who now account for about 80 p.c of consumers, affords wealthy matcha drinks and desserts corresponding to ice cream and cream puffs. Visitors from the United States praised the style, calling it “delicious” and “I love matcha.” Demand is rising worldwide, however store operators say they’re contemplating value hikes as uncooked materials prices climb.
According to Sugawara Mirai, supervisor of Rai Ichi-cha Matcha Experience, “Inbound demand is high, and that is pushing up the price of matcha.” The common price per kilogram has surged 1.5 instances in 5 years, with Uji tea in Kyoto anticipated to succeed in round 14,000 yen per kilogram in 2025—about 2.6 instances greater than 2024 ranges.
Farmers are responding by shifting from sencha to tencha, the shaded tea leaves used to supply matcha. At Yame Miryokuen Seicha in Fukuoka, president Kazunobu Ejima stated that the place manufacturing as soon as consisted of 70 p.c sencha and 30 p.c matcha, the ratio has now flipped to 60 p.c matcha and 40 p.c sencha. The cultivation of tencha requires overlaying fields with black sheets for round 20 days earlier than harvest, including to labor however providing greater returns.
This pattern, nevertheless, is straining sencha provide. Prices for first-flush sencha in Kyoto reached 4,482 yen per kilogram, up greater than 1,000 yen from 2024, whereas second-flush leaves, utilized in bottled drinks, rose over 60 p.c. Consumers within the streets voiced concern: “Sencha is the taste we are used to. It’s important for Japanese people, from the elderly to children. If prices go up, it will be a problem.”
Some growers stay cautious. In Saitama, the place the Sayama tea model is cultivated, farmer Masahiro Okutomi of Okutomi-en famous that whereas inquiries for matcha have surged from international locations corresponding to Mongolia, the UK, Germany, the US, and the Philippines since December 2024, he’s reluctant to desert sencha totally. “With the so-called matcha bubble, unit prices are totally different, but sencha prices are rising too. We must keep producing enough sencha to meet demand. If there’s extra capacity, then maybe we’ll shift part to matcha,” he stated.
The dilemma for farmers is obvious: whether or not to protect sencha tradition or pursue greater earnings from matcha.