There's a matcha shortage. Blame me

Times

11-07-2025

It was the sort of minimalist coffee shop you imagine only exists in a painfully cool corner of Copenhagen, except here I was in south London, feeling totally out of my depth. Everything was black — the counter, the coffee machine, the straws, the staff uniforms. Inside a black glass-fronted case, a single caramel bun sat on a black marble coaster. The menu was similarly sparse: a handful of coffees and 'matcha'. I panicked and ordered the latter which, when it came, turned out to be a bright green iced drink (no black matcha available?) that tasted smooth, slightly bitter and savoury but with a creamy texture.
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And that is how I became part of the problem, someone who drinks far more iced matcha than any normal 41-year-old woman should. Turns out that Gen Z are already onto this ancient Japanese green tea, which has trickled down from wellness influencers to everyday consumers, matcha offering a load of apparent health benefits but also, crucially, looking striking on social media.
Instagram is awash with the stuff: #matcha has had nine million posts and counting. Hardly a day seems to go by without the Deliciously Ella founder Ella Mills posting a photograph of herself holding an iced matcha (that's the tea, mixed with milk and ice) and in a recent podcast episode she asked whether matcha was about to steal coffee's crown. The nutritionist influencer Emily English (@emthenutritionist, 1.8 million followers) has released a loungewear collection that includes a pair of pale green pyjamas she's called Matcha PJs.
You can buy matcha in powdered form to make at home — Holland and Barrett has reported a 77 per cent increase in sales — and matcha lattes are on the menu everywhere from Starbucks to Caffè Nero and, of course, Gail's, where I just happened to pick up an iced matcha for a mere £4.60 the other day. Turns out I might have been lucky to do so. Worryingly for matcha fans everywhere, talk is brewing of a worldwide shortage and on social media things are turning ugly.
• Gen Z's thirst for matcha is outstripping supply
Simply: demand is outstripping supply. According to the research company Grand View, the UK market generated a revenue of £45.5 million in 2024 and is predicted to reach £72 million by 2030. Meanwhile, Japan's farmers are struggling to hire workers who can harvest and mill the tea fast enough.
There are reports of tourists visiting Japanese shops and buying bags full of the country's high-grade ceremonial matcha (used for culturally important tea ceremonies and not usually mixed with milk or sweet syrups as we might in lattes — sacrilege). Some stores have imposed limits of one or two tins per customer.
On TikTok (#matchatok) and Instagram people are landing themselves in hot water for perceived matcha overconsumption. One influencer who travelled back from her Japanese honeymoon with a suitcase full of tins was told by a follower, 'This is the greed they talk about in the Bible.' Matcha drinkers are policing one another over how many grams of the powdered tea it is acceptable to put in a single cup and criticising those who stockpile, given its limited shelf life. There are even video hacks showing how to open your tin without any of the precious powder accidentally escaping and floating through the air. Heaven forfend.
• The tiny Japanese town struggling to supply the West's thirst for matcha
Here's the thing: I can't even tell you why I like the stuff. Or if I actually do. I'm vaguely aware that it has health benefits — unlike regular green tea, the whole leaf is used, meaning it contains a higher level of antioxidants and nutrients that may help with heart health, brain function, gut health, lower cholesterol and stress (thanks to the amino acid L-theanine, in case you're interested).
In truth, it's handy in the early afternoon when I've already had my coffee quota for the day but want another little caffeine boost. It depends on the person but, in general, matcha doesn't cause the jitters in the same way that too many cappuccinos might. It's also weirdly moreish and far more interesting than ordering a basic iced latte. Plus, did I mention that it looks great on the 'gram?