Trouble brewing amid fears global matcha boom will lead to shortages

Record levels of the green tea's production in Japan are failing to keep up with social media-driven demand.

- By Justin McCurry in Uji

The appearance of the vivid-green powder elicits smiles and appreciative sounds, and anticipation among dozens of tea lovers. Their hand-milled batches now ready for whisking with hot water, they will soon be rewarded for their patience.

The foreign tourists attending a matcha-making experience in Uji, near Kyoto in western Japan, are united in their love of the powdered, bitter form of green tea the Japanese have been drinking for centuries, and which is now at the centre of a global boom.

Made from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant and originally served, in highly stylised fashion, at formal tea ceremonies by masters of sado the way of tea matcha is the flavour profile of the times, the must-have ingredient in everything from lattes and chocolates to ice-cream and boiled sweets.

After the lean years of the Covid-19 pandemic, businesses in Uji, a town known for deep historical ties to the matcha trade, are cashing in.

Buoyed up by record levels of tourism to Japan, restaurants take the matcha theme to its culinary extreme: gyoza and takoyaki drizzled in matcha-infused dressing, and bowls of "stamina" ramen topped with the chlorophyll-rich green stuff.

Every cafe is packed on an overcast, drizzly afternoon, as are the family-run shops doing a roaring trade in packets of locally produced tea, colourfully decorated containers and matcha-themed confectionery.