Can your matcha addiction survive a shortage and tariffs?

Matcha a green tea powder deeply rooted in Japanese tea ceremonies has surged in U S popularity in contemporary years Its vibrant green color has become a social media staple flaunted by influencers and wellness-conscious consumers Related Articles Key US inflation gauge holds mostly steady though core inflation ticks higher Fed governor Cook to seek court order blocking her firing by Trump Stocks add a bit to their records on Wall Street Hot Property Style shines through in Dover mid-century modern pressure washers are under recall after specific consumers record explosions and impact injuries Performative as it may seem matcha is also addictively delicious at least to a few To others it just tastes like grass But as anyone who has developed a habit for the earthy beverage will tell you it s also incredibly expensive I couldn t possibly count how much I ve paid for matcha since I first started drinking it in and if I could I d be embarrassed In a moment of weakness I once spent on a latte an unusually high price even for New York City where I live But like any consumables there s no price ceiling especially during a shortage as with matcha A limited supply combined with steep new U S tariffs could make both your and my daily fix that much more expensive How much does matcha typically cost Matcha represents a small portion of the U S tea area says Peter Goggi president of the Tea Association of USA a exchange group representing U S tea interests The U S is very predominantly a black tea drinking nation and more than of the tea consumed here is iced tea says Goggi So we re a very different sector than any other tea-consuming domain in the world Goggi says that matcha represents roughly of the U S tea industry by dollars and even smaller by weight At the end of the day matcha is just powdered tencha leaves which can be served hot or cold with water and as a latte with milk Even so the price can vary drastically on the shelf and in cafes depending on the location and type of matcha served Chains are no exception Starbucks s grande iced matcha latte costs at my nearby Starbucks in Brooklyn My colleagues logged in Ann Arbor Mich in Tucker Ga in Ripon Calif and in Seattle The coffee super giant lately added an upcharge for additional matcha powder If you make matcha at home the price for a tin or bag of powder varies drastically by brand and amount but also by tea leaf grade which is used as an unofficial classification in the tea industry One ounce of matcha can make roughly servings of tea Ceremonial First-harvest tencha leaves grown in shade for up to four weeks before handpicking It s then ground into a fine powder with a bright green hue Ceremonial grade tea can only be sourced in Japan It s the majority of expensive of the three grades You can purchase at the lowest end ceremonial grade for around an ounce but the highest quality powders can go for up to per pound according to Goggi Ready-to-drink Made with second-harvest tencha leaves It falls somewhere between culinary grade and ceremonial grade in taste and cost The powder looks less vibrant than ceremonial grade but still clearly a vivid green Culinary The lowest cost matcha and is meant to be used in cooking and baking The tencha leaves used in culinary grade matcha are typically older third-harvest or more The color of the powder is usually a dull brownish-green color A typical bag of the powder can cost anywhere from to per ounce Why is there a matcha shortage Like preponderance shortages matcha s comes down to supply and demand In this episode demand has boomed largely due to social media trends and appeal for health-minded consumers says Goggi At this point the pressure is almost all on matcha he adds The Global Japanese Tea Association GJTA reports that Japanese tea exports have grown from of the country s total production in the early s to roughly by the end of And in half of the metric tons of green tea exported from Japan was matcha according to Japan s Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries In Kyushu one of Japan s four main islands tea exports grew by in largely due to matcha s popularity the GJTA mentioned The U S is its key export territory Local producers in Japan are overwhelmed even as suppliers have expanded to other nations including China and India But ceremonial matcha by definition can only be produced in Japan which puts added pressure on suppliers It s one of the scant teas you can t just turn on the spout and make more of says Goggi It requires very specific restoration before harvest and that takes time The seasonality of matcha production makes it more complex to meet year-round demand Tencha plants take five years to mature and are picked once a year in springtime The highest grade matcha requires a certain amount of shading before it s picked in order to boost chlorophyll and L-theanine which affect its color and flavor After picking the leaves must be steamed dried sorted slowly ground up using stone mills and packaged Matcha only represents about to of total tea production in Japan but Japan really owns the territory says Goggi The entire infrastructure of tea production has declined mainly because of the aging of people involved in the tea business Majority of these farms are family-owned tea farms so there s a lot of pressure on tea consumption and production in Japan Producing matcha is a labor-intensive process and there aren t enough workers to meet the demand says Goggi The downward trend is largely due to an aging population in agriculture as fewer young workers are opting to enter tea farming Like bulk agriculture matcha farmers also struggle with the effects of state change including high heat which stunts production Last year was Japan s hottest year on record and July marked the nation s highest month on record How will tariffs affect the cost of matcha President Donald Trump has repeatedly commented that his tariffs will boost domestic manufacturing and production But agricultural imports are different and U S production won t be able to replace Japanese supply Tea farms in the U S represent of what s consumed in the U S so it s virtually nothing says Goggi There s no way that the U S can ever be a large enough tea producer to satisfy domestic demand It s the same story with other agricultural products like bananas or coffee Yes the U S grows specific but nowhere near the scale needed to meet consumer demand That means that imports remain essential The Tax Foundation projects that of all food imports will be impacted by tariffs and says those tariffs will lead to higher prices for consumers Matcha is primarily sourced from Japan which faces a tariff Secondary producers face even higher tariffs India was of late slapped with a tariff while China now has a tariff which could go up if a deal isn t reached Unless distributors or retailers swallow the added cost matcha prices will likely rise on store shelves your online cart and at your local cafe Tariffs combined with Japan s production limits could push prices even higher Ultimately the price of tea will have to absorb these tariffs says Goggi And that happens on the shelf consumers will pick it up More From NerdWallet Solicited on Reddit Should I Save for My Retirement or My Child s Instruction Big Paychecks Big Regrets How to Avoid Splurge Pitfalls What Does It Mean to Be Rich We Urged People Anna Helhoski writes for NerdWallet Email anna nerdwallet com Twitter AnnaHelhoski The article Can Your Matcha Addiction Survive a Shortage and Tariffs originally appeared on NerdWallet