The surging global demand for matcha, driven by social media trends and increased tourism to Japan, is causing a worldwide shortage and putting significant pressure on Japan's tea industry. This has led to supply caps, delays, and anticipated price increases for consumers, exacerbated by a decline in domestic tea consumption and an aging farming population in Japan.
Matcha is having a moment — and it's putting pressure on Japan's tea industry
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TL;DR: Key points with love ❤️The surging global demand for matcha, driven by social media trends and increased tourism to Japan, is causing a worldwide shortage and putting significant pressure on Japan's tea industry. This has led to supply caps, delays, and anticipated price increases for consumers, exacerbated by a decline in domestic tea consumption and an aging farming population in Japan.
Trending- 1 Mid-2010s: Bubble tea became famous
- 2 2015: Canada's green tea intake from Japan increased by 118% since this year
- 3 Past 15 to 20 years: Japanese tea industry in decline
- 4 Fall (2024): Demand for matcha ticked sharply upward
- 5 April 2025: Second Cup added another matcha latte to its menu
- 6 April 2025: Total exports of Japanese tea up 85.7% from same month previous year
- 7 June 27, 2025: Article published
- 8 By the end of this year (2025): Substantial price increases expected
- Global matcha shortage.
- Anticipated substantial price increases for matcha consumers.
- Pressure on Japan's tea industry to ramp up production.
- Farmers shifting production to matcha, but it's a difficult switch.
What: Global shortage of matcha tea due to surging demand, impacting Japan's tea industry and leading to price increases.
When: Demand surged "since the fall" (Fall 2024); article published June 27, 2025; "by the end of this year" (2025) substantial price increases expected; "past 15 to 20 years" (since 2005-2010) decline in Japanese tea industry; April 2025 exports up 85.7%; since 2015 Canada's intake up 118%.
Where: Japan (primary source of matcha), Toronto (café example), China, Vietnam (other producers).
Why: Increased global demand (social media, tourism) combined with existing challenges in Japan's tea industry (declining domestic consumption, aging farmers, difficult production switch) has led to supply chain pressure and shortages.
How: By detailing the surge in demand, the impact on Japanese producers (supply caps, apologies), the challenges of increasing production (cost, time, farmer demographics), and the resulting price increases for consumers.