This story was written in collaboration with L.A. TACO’s Media Lab class at USC, an incubator for emerging journalists aimed at forging a new path for the future of journalism. Keep a look out for our ongoing series of stories from L.A. TACO Media Lab students.
This viral $36 matcha tin just got more expensive.
Ashley Alexander, a popular YouTube influencer and founder of the matcha brand Nami Matcha, posted a TikTok in late October announcing that Nami would have to raise prices due to the “matcha shortage.”
Her most expensive product, Yame First Harvest Matcha powder, used to cost $36. Now, it costs $42.
Alexander’s TikTok caught the matcha community's attention, receiving 423.2K views—the most Nami Matcha’s TikToks have ever received. Her comments were flooded with negativity, the top comments reading, “Insane bc ur matcha is alr SO expensive,” and, “More than $40 that’s just insane ur matcha is already expensive enough yeah goodluck!!”
Nami Matcha is just one business affected by the matcha shortage, or the high global demand for matcha, met by its low supply, but what is fueling the matcha shortage? And why can’t suppliers keep up with the demand?
Over the past few years, matcha, a high-quality green tea finely ground into powder form, has gone viral all over the internet.
This is attributed to several factors, one being its beautiful, vibrant green aesthetic. Green matcha lattes or delicious matcha pancakes, for example, make for eye-catching Instagram posts or TikToks. Matcha recipes, reviews and drinks, in effect, gained millions of views.
The increase in tourism in Japan also increased the popularity of matcha online. As more and more people traveled to Japan to take advantage of the country’s cheap currency, more tourists tried or bought matcha and posted about it.
However, most of all, matcha gained an online presence because of its health benefits, which became prevalent following the pandemic. People were looking to become the healthiest versions of themselves, and matcha is known to be a healthy alternative to coffee.
Harvard Medical School published a study last year that lists all of matcha’s possible nutritional advantages.
They noted that catechins, antioxidants found in green tea, help lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Polyphenols, a plant-based chemical compound, have anti-inflammatory effects. Most notably, the amino acid L-theanine has been associated with improved concentration and alertness. Coffee, which does not contain L-theanine, may give drinkers the jitters instead.
All of these factors have fed the social media craze surrounding our favorite green drink, and as a result, demand has increased dramatically.
Miles Bothwell, a matcha educator for Den’s Tea, said, “The last year has been wildly different. In 2024, from the period of January to July, compared with 2025 January to July, the import [for matcha powder] is roughly a little more than 50% higher, which is a crazy number.”
Because of this spike in demand, suppliers in Japan are struggling to keep up.
Farmers are aging, and younger populations are unwilling to take over.
According to Nio Japanese Green Tea, “In 2000, there were 53,000 tea farmers in Japan, and in the last 25 years that number has shrank 75% down to 12,353. Farmers are retiring quickly, and the younger generations aren’t willing to continue their work.”
To make matters worse, record-breaking heatwaves have led to lower-yielding harvests. Tea plants are highly sensitive to weather conditions. Extreme temperatures, irregular rainfall, and unexpected frost, worsened by climate change, can damage tea leaves or disrupt harvest times.
Even if enough tea leaves were being cultivated, there are still not enough stone mills to grind the matcha. Each mill spins slowly, producing 40 grams of powder—only enough for 10 to 12 matcha lattes—per hour. This is to ensure that the matcha is not damaged by friction-generated heat. Manufacturers would need many stone mills to produce enough matcha to meet current demand.
However, stone mills take time to construct as they are carved in a specific way to ensure the matcha is ground finely. There are only a few certified masters who create traditional Japanese stone mills, limiting matcha production.
The combination of all of these factors is preventing matcha suppliers from meeting the demand. As a result, matcha tins, like Nami’s, are costing people around $40 to $50 to get their hands on the limited supply.
As shown by Alexander’s TikTok comments, consumers are frustrated, to say the least. They are all of a sudden paying a higher cost for the same product. Several matcha powder retailers have had to increase their prices to stay afloat.
However, the effects of the matcha shortage are not necessarily all bad. Ryan Ahn, founder and CEO of Sanko Matcha Products and the co-host of the Specialty Matcha Podcast, acknowledges that there are pros.
“I actually think it’s a good thing for the industry because it’s putting everyone in an exploratory state, where you can search for little pockets of value where you might have never thought to buy matcha from this region, or processed in this way, or from this particular cultivar,” he says.
In order to remedy the matcha shortage and thereby drive down prices, experts are actually encouraging consumers to do just as Ahn said, explore other options.
Matcha is traditionally grown in Japan, but China and Korea are also major producers of matcha tea leaves. Jules Reyes, a cafe matcha educator who led marketing for Jade Leaf, the #1 Matcha Seller in the U.S., is attempting to educate people on alternatives and destigmatize matcha grown in other countries.
“What people don’t know is that, for example, in Chinese facilities that produce matcha, they are consulting with Japanese tea farmers,” she says. “They are helping them. Tea fields in Korea, planted by Japanese tea farmers.”
“I think that there's an opportunity for matcha consumers to broaden our scope and try to appreciate the matcha for what it is. If we want to see the industry thrive, we have to open our minds.”
