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Practical guides on sourcing, quality, and the matcha market, from people who work directly with farmers.
Some photos here were not taken by our founder.
Japanese tencha auction prices by region and grade, a transparent US-landed cost bridge, and where supply is tight. Updated monthly.
Why matcha is scarce right now, and how your cafe can still secure a steady supply from Japan.
How origin shapes flavor, price, and supply security, from Uji to Kagoshima and beyond.
What's myth and what's real about L-theanine, caffeine and antioxidants, and what your cafe can legally claim on the menu.
Why supply can't catch demand: a cafe buyer's outlook on prices, tencha, and securing matcha.
Grades aren't regulated. The leaf (tencha), the harvest (first flush) and a short supply chain are what you actually pay for.
No legal definition protects "matcha." How real matcha is actually made (shade-grown, stone-milled tencha) and the quality traits cafes should test, drawing on ISO/TR 21380:2022.
China now makes ~70% of the world's matcha. How Japanese and Chinese matcha differ in history and quality, and why provenance is becoming the product.
The 9 questions to ask, the lab tests to require, and how to vet a matcha lot before you commit.
Why matcha’s L-theanine changes how cafe customers experience caffeine — and what that means for your menu.
The 2026 operator playbook: which grade to buy, the $200–500 equipment list, the sub-45-second workflow, and how to secure Japanese supply before launch.
FDA Prior Notice, FSVP, import duty, customs fees, and label rules for a first direct shipment.
The four ways cafes buy Japanese matcha, and how to buy farm-direct when supply is short.
How long matcha stays fresh once opened, what actually degrades it, and the routine that keeps your matcha lattes consistent.
Which grade cafes actually need, how much you will use, the latte margin math, and how to lock reliable supply during the 2026 shortage. The pillar guide.
“Ceremonial grade” has no official definition. The real markers, when a cafe actually needs it, how to spot relabeled culinary, and how to source it in the 2026 shortage.
What wholesale and bulk matcha cost per kg by grade, MOQs, lead times, the red-flag prices that signal a fake, and how to buy direct from Japan.
Cafe-ready matcha latte ratios for hot and iced, the water temperature and method that avoid bitterness, how to batch for volume, and which grade to use.
The iced matcha ratio and method, the 2026 trending drinks like strawberry matcha, the layered look that goes viral, summer batching, and which grade to use.
The official ISO/TR 21380 definition of matcha, what it excludes, and how to tell real matcha from powdered green tea and fakes.
What JAS organic means, how it travels as USDA Organic, the 45% organic premium, and the five documents to demand from any supplier.
Caffeine vs coffee, the iron and liver myths, pregnancy limits, and how much is too much, answered so your baristas can serve with confidence.
Hojicha search is up 54.6%. How hojicha, genmaicha, and sencha fit your menu, and how to add them to one Japan-direct matcha order.
What Japan's new "Japanese Tea" GI protects, how it defines matcha, and what it means for cafes sourcing real Japanese matcha.
Ippodo paused new accounts and tencha prices doubled. Compare Aiya, Rishi, Jade Leaf, Kettl, and farm-direct options for your cafe.
Bitter, clumpy, or wasteful matcha lattes usually trace back to five fixable habits. Water temp, whisking, grade, dosing, and storage, explained.
The new Section 301 forced-labor tariff hits 60 economies, but green tea is on Customs' exclusion list, so your matcha is not charged. The proof, and what it means for cost.
Same plant, different product. Matcha is shade-grown, tencha-processed and stone-milled; green tea powder is none of the three. What that difference does on the bar.
The three steps that define matcha: weeks under shade, leaf dried without rolling into tencha, then slow stone milling. Why the process sets the price and the supply.
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