Is Your Matcha Actually Real? Experts Reveal the Hidden Truth Behind the Global Matcha Boom

A worldwide matcha boom

“Demand for matcha is expanding globally, to the point where production can’t keep up. High-priced products in particular are selling well.”

With rising health consciousness around the world, matcha has gained attention as a superfood. Regarding this explosive boom, Professor Junko Nakamura, a specially appointed professor at the University of Shizuoka Tea Science Research Center—known as the “Tea Variety Doctor”—explains the situation as follows. (Below, quotes are from Professor Nakamura.)

“It was Häagen-Dazs that made matcha widely known. Starbucks followed after that. Matcha became a boom as a premium ice cream flavor, and then it was used in drinks and spread globally.”

Today, matcha-flavored treats appear in all sorts of foods and beverages, including sweets, ice cream, and drinks. However, behind this unprecedented boom lies a complex reality that many of us are not aware of.

Superfood the background of its worldwide popularity

One reason matcha has become a huge boom overseas is that green tea in general is widely accepted by health-conscious people. Components found in green tea, such as catechins and theanine, attract the interest of consumers with high health awareness.

With green tea brewed in a teapot, only some of the nutrients in the tea leaves are extracted, but matcha—which is consumed as whole tea leaves ground into powder—allows for efficient intake of these components and has earned global recognition as a superfood.

Another major reason is the worldwide popularity of Japanese cuisine and Japanese culture. Particularly among foreign visitors to Japan, matcha experiences have become a popular activity. This combination of health benefits, admiration for Japanese culture, and delicious flavor has led to matcha lattes and matcha sweets being shared worldwide on social media under the hashtag #Matcha.

Overseas, domestically the shifting landscape of production competition

With the global matcha boom, the structure of international competition has also changed dramatically. China, which until now had not been producing matcha, began full-scale production a few years ago, expanding its scale, adopting Japanese cultivation techniques, and improving its quality.

Professor Nakamura explains the comparison between Japanese and Chinese matcha as follows:

“About five years ago, when we analyzed Japanese and Chinese matcha, Japanese matcha had more theanine—the umami component characteristic of matcha—and less catechin, which is associated with bitterness.

However, since then, production technology in China has advanced, and the quality has improved dramatically. At this point, they are starting to produce matcha so similar that people who do not regularly drink matcha likely cannot distinguish between Japanese and Chinese varieties.”

Meanwhile, major shifts are occurring within Japan as well. In addition to the increasing number of producers shifting from sencha to matcha production, Kagoshima Prefecture has overtaken Kyoto to become the top producer of tencha—the raw material used to make matcha.

Real matcha and matcha for processed foods

The rapid expansion of matcha production and the intensification of international competition may appear, at first glance, to be a tailwind for the industry. However, behind these changes lies a complex issue that consumers are not widely aware of. It concerns the broad range of products covered by the word matcha.

“Many of the sweets and drinks we commonly see labeled as matcha are made not from tea ceremony–grade matcha, which is recognized as part of traditional Japanese culture, but rather from inexpensive raw materials intended for food processing, such as aki-tencha (autumn tencha) or moga tea. These are essentially different from what is defined as matcha by the Japan Tea Central Association.

According to the Association’s definition, matcha refers to tea buds grown using 覆下栽培 (oishita saibai)—a method in which new shoots are covered with black nets or reed screens to block sunlight—harvested, dried without rolling, into tencha (the raw material for matcha), and then ground into a fine powder using stone mills. Grinding with stone mills suppresses friction heat, preserving matcha’s original flavor and vibrant color.”

In contrast, the tea used in sweets, beverages, and similar products is often powdered tea—tea grown under direct sunlight and then ground into powder.

“Because the term powdered tea doesn’t convey much product value, it is sold under the name matcha, but the cultivation and production methods are different, resulting in differences in flavor, components, and even functionality.”

According to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the production volume of tencha in 2024 (Reiwa 6) was about 5,300 tons. Meanwhile, the amount of products distributed domestically as matcha is estimated to be around 10,000 tons, and the difference is believed to be accounted for by matcha used in processed foods.

The value of true matcha

True matcha, produced through the unique covered cultivation method, has characteristics different from the powdered tea used in processed foods.

“When covered cultivation is used, sunlight is blocked, increasing chlorophyll and giving the tea leaves a vibrant green color. In terms of components, it is rich in the umami elements theanine and arginine, and it produces an aroma component (dimethyl sulfide) similar to aonori (green laver). This is proof that proper covered cultivation has been applied.”

On the other hand, powdered tea used in processed foods—produced without covered cultivation—contains more catechins and has a stronger bitterness. However, this characteristic can also be an advantage.

“When mixing with sugar or milk, as in sweets or drinks, tea with a strong and robust flavor helps create a balanced and delicious final product.”

What supports the charm of matcha loved around the world is the diversity created by differences in production methods, tea varieties, and intended uses. Still, by experiencing the depth of true matcha in a tea ceremony class or a specialty shop, one can appreciate a different kind of Japanese matcha culture, apart from the matcha sweets enjoyed in everyday life.