Matcha madness leaves Japan’s tea ceremony pros skeptical

Matcha is suddenly popping up in all sorts of things, from lattes and ice cream to cakes and chocolate. No one knows for sure who started the global matcha boom, which has been going on for several years. But it's clear that harvests, especially of fine-grade matcha, can't keep up with demand. Matcha is a type of tea that's grown in shade, steamed and then ground into a very fine powder. It's processed differently from regular green tea. The Japanese agricultural ministry has been working to boost tea growth, offering help to farmers with new machines, special soil, financial aid and counseling to try to coax tea growers to switch to matcha from regular green sencha tea. “We don’t want this to end up just a fad, but instead make matcha a standard as a flavor and Japanese global brand,” said Tomoyuki Kawai, who works at the tea section of the agricultural ministry. Japan's tea exports have more than doubled over the last decade, with the U.S. now accounting for about a third. Much of that growth is of matcha, according to Japanese government data. The concern is that with labor shortages as aging farmers leave their fields, the matcha crunch may worsen in the coming years. Other countries, including China and some Southeast Asian countries, are also producing matcha, so Japan is racing to establish its branding as the origin of the tea. Tea ceremony practitioners aren’t angered by the craze, just perplexed. They hope it will lead to people taking an interest in sado or “the way of tea,” whose followers have been steadily declining. But they aren’t counting on it. Business owner Minoru Handa has a longtime relationship with growers in Kagoshima, southwestern Japan, and has a steady supply of matcha. To guard against hoarders, he limits purchases at his store to one can per customer. Handa, who has exhibited his prize-winning tea in the U.S. and Europe, expects that growers will increase the supply and shrugs off the hullabaloo over the matcha shortage. This article was provided by The Associated Press.