Matcha, Coffee, and Japan's Hidden Colonial Secret

Japan is one of the most coffee-obsessed countries in Asia. It is also the country that gave the world the matcha ceremony. So why does one country have two completely different drink cultures — and how did both of them end up conquering the world?The answer involves foreign warships arriving in 1853, a government that decided the only way to survive was to become Western, and a tea ceremony that almost disappeared. Twice.In this episode of Unwritten Asia, we trace how Japan adopted coffee as a deliberate act of political survival during the Meiji Restoration — and how matcha was simultaneously preserved, nearly lost, and eventually turned into a five-billion-dollar global export industry that now fills the seasonal menus of Starbucks, Dunkin', and Pret a Manger.This is not a story about taste. It is a story about identity, colonial pressure, and one country performing two completely different versions of itself for two completely different audiences — at the same time.What you will learn in this episode:Why the samurai class drank matcha — and what happened when the Meiji government abolished themHow Japan's first Western-style coffee shop opened in 1888 — before most Japanese people had tasted coffeeThe two moments matcha nearly went extinct — and what saved it both timesWhy Japan exported nearly 9,000 tonnes of matcha in 2024, a 24% increase in a single yearThe schism between traditional tea ceremony masters and the global matcha industry — and why both sides are rightEpisode chapters:00:00 — Introduction: Japan's two drink cultures01:00 — The tea country: matcha and the samurai class01:53 — The ships: Perry's arrival and Japan's survival calculation02:36 — The Meiji Restoration and the first kissaten04:20 — How matcha nearly died — twice05:47 — The global matcha boom: 5 billion dollars and TikTok billions06:42 — The schism: ceremony masters vs the oat milk latte07:20 — The answer: two performances, neither an accidentWatch the illustrated version on YouTube: [YOUR YOUTUBE LINK]Follow Unwritten Asia for weekly Asian history the West never taught you.