We Are Drinking So Much Matcha That Supplies Are Running Out

抹茶需求激增，全球供应告急

Matcha tea, a powdered Japanese green tea, has become a cultural phenomenon in the West, so much so that its popularity has resulted in a global supply problem. Western consumers have thirsted for the health option in recent years, a trend skyrocketed by social media—especially through Tik Tok.

抹茶，一种日本绿茶粉，已在西方成为一种文化现象，其受欢迎程度之高甚至引发了全球供应问题。近年来，西方消费者热衷于选择健康饮品，这一趋势在社交媒体——尤其是TikTok的推动下迅速升温。

At the same time, Japan has experienced a mass tourism rise in the post-pandemic years—in 2024, Japan welcomed a record-breaking 36.9 million international visitors, surpassing the previous record of 31.9 million in 2019 — leading to many mass tea companies and local vendors to report shortages of supply.

与此同时，后疫情时代，日本旅游业迎来爆发式增长。2024年，日本接待国际游客数量创历史新高，达3690万人次，超越了2019年3190万人次的纪录。这导致许多大型茶叶公司和当地供应商纷纷报告供应短缺。

Back in October 2024, two well-known matcha companies—Ippodo and Marukyu Koyamaen—limited and/or stopped selling certain kinds of matcha, citing short supplies.

早在2024年10月，两家知名抹茶公司——一保堂和丸久小山园——就以供应短缺为由，限制或停止了部分抹茶产品的销售。

"Dear customers, We have been receiving an unexpected high volume of orders during the past few months. Taking production scale and capacity into consideration, we regrettably announce that availability for all Matcha products, regardless size and packaging type, will be limited from now on," Marukyu Koyamaen's website still reads.

丸久小山园的网站上至今仍写着：“尊敬的顾客，过去几个月，我们接到了大量订单，远超预期。考虑到生产规模和产能，我们遗憾地宣布，从现在起，所有抹茶产品（无论规格和包装类型）的供应都将受到限制。”

Matcha comes from the same plant that many different teas come from— the camellia sinensis. The camellia sinensis leaves can be made into green tea, oolong tea, and black tea. Though matcha originates from China, it has become closely associated and rooted in Japanese culture.

抹茶与多种茶叶同源，均来自茶树。茶树的叶子可以制成绿茶、乌龙茶和红茶。虽然抹茶起源于中国，但已与日本文化紧密相连，深深扎根于日本文化之中。

Matcha is a type of green tea, but the processing, form and taste differs significantly, and is made specifically from tencha, a shaded green leaf tea. Matcha also only makes up a small amount of Japanese tea production—just 6%—according to the Global Japanese Tea Association.

抹茶属于绿茶的一种，但其加工方式、形态和口感却大相径庭。抹茶特由一种名为“碾茶”的遮荫绿茶制成。据全球日本茶协会统计，抹茶在日本茶叶总产量中仅占6%。

Yet, the demand has skyrocketed. And as a result, prices have also soared. According to Forbes, the matcha market is expected to hit about $5 billion by 2028, an expected growth of more than 10% since 2023. Further, the Japanese agriculture ministry has reported that the 2024 tencha output was over 2.5 times higher than 2014.

然而，抹茶的需求却急剧增长。随之而来的是价格飙升。据《福布斯》报道，到2028年，抹茶市场规模预计将达到约50亿美元，较2023年增长超过10%。此外，日本农业省报告称，2024年碾茶产量较2014年增长了2.5倍以上。

The question is whether increased demand, small farmers trying to meet this demand, and a crop that is heavily dependent on weather patterns can keep up, even as the spring matcha harvest attempts to make up for the shortages of the past year.

问题在于，随着春季抹茶收获季试图弥补去年的短缺，激增的需求、努力满足需求的小农户以及严重依赖天气条件的农作物能否保持同步增长。

This year, though, the Kyoto region of Japan, which accounts for a large percentage of tencha harvest, was hit with a hot and dry harvest season, say farmers in the area.

然而，今年日本京都地区（碾茶的主要产区）的农户表示，该地区遭遇了炎热干燥的收获季。

In 2025, Zach Mangan, founder of Kettl Tea, a Brooklyn-based company specializing in high-quality teas imported directly from farms in Japan, called this year's harvest a "high-quality but lower-yielding harvest" in a blog post in May of this year—the kind of harvest that will boost demand and lower availability, potentially raising prices even further.

2025年，布鲁克林Kettl茶公司（一家专门从日本农场直接进口高品质茶叶的公司）创始人扎克·曼根在5月的博客中称，今年的收成是“高品质但低产量的收成”，这种收成将刺激需求、减少供应，并可能进一步推高价格。

According to the Global Japanese Tea Association, the average price for tencha in late April reached 8,235 yen per kilogram, which is 1.7 times higher than last year's average. And according to producers, that can only be expected to continue.

据全球日本茶协会统计，4月下旬，碾茶的平均价格已达每公斤8235日元，是去年平均价格的1.7倍。据生产商称，这一趋势预计还将持续。

"Over the past year, demand for matcha has grown beyond all expectations," Ippodo updates customers on July 18. "Unfortunately, supply constraints are likely to continue."

一保堂在7月18日向顾客更新信息时表示：“过去一年，抹茶的需求增长远超预期，遗憾的是，供应紧张的状况可能会持续下去。”