Matcha Madness

(Image from akimatcha)

Your humble blogger likes green tea and its matcha variant, but he doesn't love matcha as much as its afficionados do. [bold added]

Matcha’s meteoric rise in popularity, along with a proliferation of resellers who buy large quantities of the tea from the small number of Japanese vendors who produce it each year, has triggered a global shortage and a steep jump in prices. The market turmoil has spurred a fierce debate among the matcha faithful about who exactly is responsible for the dwindling supply—and who deserves to drink it.

They have taken to policing how many grams of matcha is acceptable to use in a latte. People who keep multiple tins in their collections are criticized by matchaholics who point out matcha’s limited shelf life. Those who don’t take care to use every last bit of powder, such as by gently opening the tin over a bowl so that wayward powder doesn’t fly into the air, are scorned for wasting money.

[27-year-old Kimi] Jayasiri, who posts videos of herself making matcha, rating brands and cafes and offering updates on the shortage from vendors, says people often accuse her of hoarding tea or even causing the shortage. After she posted a TikTok showing a suitcase overflowing with matcha and matcha-infused foods she bought in Japan during her honeymoon, the comments were scathing. “This is the greed they talk about in the Bible,” one read.

Although economists haven't covered themselves with glory recently (tariffs did not trigger a depression), it's very likely that the craze for matcha will follow the economics playbook. Red-hot demand has escalated prices, which will cause matcha-makers to increase production. Supply will eventually meet demand, and prices will stop rising.

The madness of the matcha crowd has a limited life-span.