Benefits, production, success: here's why matcha tea is so popular

Lines are growing at matcha cafes in Los Angeles and Tokyo, but Japanese producers are struggling to keep up.

What you need to know about this new flagship “wellness” product.

What is matcha tea?

Matcha powder, which means "ground tea" in Japanese, is made from tencha leaves, a shade-grown tea grown in its final weeks to concentrate the flavors and nutrients.

Once harvested, the leaves are dried and then ground between two stone millstones to produce an ultra-fine powder.

Japan discovered tea in the early 9th century, imported from China. At the time, it was used for its medicinal properties. It wasn't until the 16th century that matcha was developed in Kyoto, becoming inseparable from the tea ceremony perfected by master Sen no Rikyu. "Classic" green tea, called "sencha," wouldn't be used until two centuries later.

There are several grades of matcha, ranging from "ceremonial" grade, used in traditional tea rituals in Japan, to more accessible versions, called "culinary," intended for baking and everyday use.

How is it made?

It takes about five years for a tea plant to reach maturity.

Three to four weeks before harvest, the plants are covered with a net to filter the light, which increases their content of chlorophyll and L-theanine, a molecule known for its relaxing effects.

The leaves are then hand-picked, stemmed, steam-dried, and then slowly stone-ground, a process that can take up to an hour to produce 40g of matcha.

“To make good matcha, the leaves must be hand-picked, and shading the tea plants, called tanakake, requires building a complex structure with poles and a roof to filter the light,” explains Masahiro Okutomi, a tea farmer in Sayama, north of Tokyo.

This demanding process makes matcha cost on average twice as much as sencha to produce.

What are its benefits?

In addition to its vegetal flavor, matcha is also appealing for its nutritional properties. Rich in antioxidants, particularly catechins (EGCG), it is known to promote concentration without causing nervousness.

According to official data from the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, a cup of matcha contains an average of 48mg of caffeine, slightly less than filter coffee, but almost twice as much as regular green tea.

“Matcha is often perceived as healthy, but there’s also an appeal to the Japanese culture surrounding tea: the ritual, the time, the aesthetics,” says Shigehito Nishikida, manager of the Jugetsudo tea shop in Tokyo’s tourist district of Tsukiji.

Why is it so popular?

In 2023, Japan produced 4,176 tonnes of matcha, up from 1,430 tonnes in 2012. More than half of this production is now exported, according to the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, notably to the United States, Southeast Asia, Europe, Australia, and the Middle East.

Matcha's international boom owes much to its visibility on social media. On TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, millions of videos show how to whisk matcha, choose your chasen (bamboo whisk), and make photogenic drinks.

“I feel like Gen Z really drove this matcha craze, and they relied heavily on social media to do that,” says Stevie Youssef, 31, a matcha bar patron in Los Angeles who works in marketing.

The success of matcha can also be explained by its versatility in cooking and baking, which appeals to more than just tea lovers.

"Some customers simply enjoy drinking it, others enjoy making it themselves. And of course, many buy it as gifts; Japanese matcha is always a pleasure," adds Mr. Nishikida of the Jugetsudo store, saying he is "overwhelmed" by the scale of the phenomenon.