Matcha Boom Drives Prices Up for Raw Material in Japan

Kagoshima, Sept. 4 (Jiji Press)–The global matcha boom is driving up prices in Japan for “tencha,” the raw material for the finely ground green tea powder. The shipping price of tencha has more than doubled due to strong demand both at home and abroad. “People bought as much (matcha) as we had in stock,” said Kenta Ikeda, CEO of Ikeda Seicha Co., a tea seller in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan. He said that 30-gram canned matcha had been quickly sold out on sales websites last autumn when demand started surging. Moves by certain customers to buy up all cans have dissipated, but inquiries from home and abroad remain strong. The global boom began with the launch of Starbucks matcha latte in 2006, according to the Tea Industry Chamber of Kagoshima. The drink’s healthy image gained attention, particularly in the United States, and its popularity soared last year as influencers showcased matcha on social media. The average shipping price of tencha rose for the fifth consecutive year in 2025, more than doubling from the previous year to 8,562 yen per kilogram, according to the Japanese Association of Tea Production. To capitalize on the boom, tea farmers are shifting from “sencha,” the most popular Japanese tea, to tencha. As a result, production of sencha has sharply declined, making it expensive and less affordable. Toru Mitsumura, a senior official of the Tea Industry Chamber of Kagoshima, said that rising sencha prices have driven customers away, leading to “Japanese tea being replaced on supermarket shelves by barley tea and other beverages.” He said that a possible loss of sencha enthusiasts could leave tea farmers in a difficult position once the matcha boom subsides. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]