Matcha Crisis In Japan, This Country Is Ready To Be An Alternative

JAKARTA - Global demand for matcha has continued to soar in recent years. The trend of a healthy lifestyle, popularity on social media, and post-pandemic Japanese tourism have made this Sakura Country green tea reach its heyday.

But behind its popularity, Japan is facing a supply crisis of matchha. Production had almost tripled between 2010 and 2023, but extreme heat waves made it difficult for farmers to meet market needs.

"Matcha is now truly global, not only in the West. This trend has reached Africa, the Middle East, Singapore, and many other countries," said Maria Fasciola, CEO and founder of Matchha.com, importer of Japanese matcha products in the United States, quoted from the Perfect Daily Grind page.

High-quality Matcha is known to be produced in traditional ways. Tea leaves are grown under a special auspices to slow growth, picked selectively by hand, then slowly digillates using rock.

This process maintains natural sweet tastes, bright green colors, and nutritional content. But this complicated method is also a challenge.

"Traditional matchmaking production is very labor-intensive and requires skilled workers. The problem is, the average age of tea farmers in Japan is now 65 years old. Regeneration is almost non-existent," explainedIL.

Although the Japanese government has provided subsidies for farmers to switch from sencha tea to tencha (mathcha raw materials), supply is still difficult to catch up with the surge in demand.

This condition makes the world's eyes turn to other countries. China is now the largest producer of matcha in the world, to have the largest matcha factory in one location in Guizhou Province.

Vietnam, South Korea, and Myanmar have also begun to develop the production of matcha. However, quality is still a big question.

"Matcha does come from China, but Japan is perfecting it. I've never found a high-quality matcha outside of Japan, always lacking Umami," said Jared Nyberg, owner of JagaSilk, annealer and Canadian matcha distributor.

Apart from the expertise, climate and soil conditions, it is also very influential. The Japanese region such as Uji, Yama, and Nishio is known to have ideal conditions to produce high-quality matcha.

With the increasing number of matcha products in the market, consumers need to be observant. According to experts, there are several indicators of the quality of matcha:

- Bright green is the result of a good silting process.

- Fine textures like powder, the sign is ground properly.

- Fresh and sweet scents with a little fragrance of grass.

- A balanced taste between creamy, full of umami, minimal bitter taste.

- Packaging light and air meetings to stay fresh.

"Your tea program does not need to be complicated, the important thing is that the quality is maintained. Small investment in recitation training will make matcha appear with proper respect," said Jared.

The global market value of the matcha is expected to grow from 4.3 billion US dollars (Rp70 trillion) in 2023 to more than 7 billion US dollars (Rp115 trillion) in 2030. From just a simple chipper, now matcha is present in various beverage creations with milk, dumplings, to contemporary toppings.

But behind this trend, supply remains a major problem. Japan is still recognized as the best matchmaker in the world, but if supply is unable to catch up with demand. So other countries can be an alternative even though the quality still has to be tested.