Matcha has a reputation for being expensive. It consistently comes in around R30 more expensive than the average coffee when purchased from a cafe that uses ceremonial-grade powder. At first glance, matcha may seem like nothing more than finely ground green tea, but the reality is that it is far more complex.
It's especially confusing considering that matcha comes from the same plant, Camellia sinensis, used to produce black, green and oolong tea. The difference lies in the cultivation and production process. Every tin on the shelf is the result of months of specialised cultivation, meticulous processing, and generations of Japanese craftsmanship and culture.
The simple answer is that matcha is one of the most labour-intensive teas in the world.
Most teas are harvested, dried, and packaged in tins or tea bags. Matcha, however, follows an entirely different journey. The leaves are carefully monitored throughout the growing season before undergoing a highly specialised process that includes shading, selective harvesting, steaming, drying, de-veining and, finally, stone grinding, much of which is carried out by hand. Every stage of the process requires careful attention to detail and meticulous precision.
Of course, there are different types of matcha powder, like culinary-grade matcha, which is considerably more affordable. For the purposes of this article, we’ll focus on the high-quality, ceremonial-grade product that we sell and serve at Ceremony Matcha in Cape Town.
Matcha is seasonal, and only the Youngest Leaves are used
When you purchase a tin of ceremonial-grade matcha, you’re buying a powder made using only the first flush of the spring harvest. Known in Japan as ichibancha, these young, tender leaves have spent the winter storing nutrients, making them naturally sweeter and higher in the amino acids that give matcha its characteristic stable-energy lift. Later harvests won’t only offer lower nutritional value but also often have an astringent or bitter taste.
There is typically only one period each year when matcha can be harvested and produced, between late April and mid-May. For the rest of the year, the tea plants used for matcha sit waiting and maturing for the next annual harvest.
Since only a small portion of each year’s harvest is suitable to be processed into premium matcha, supply is naturally limited.
Japan Produces Relatively Small Quantities
Building on the low supply point, Japan is a small island nation that produces small quantities of tea. Even as matcha takes the world by storm, it is still a relatively small-scale agricultural product. Only a few regions, like Kagoshima, Uji, and Shizuoka, have the right growing conditions for matcha farms. Even across a small island landscape, not all Japanese regions have the correct soil and climate to grow tea plants.
These regions and the farms within them can only produce so much matcha each season. Tea trees can take years to mature before they are able to produce leaves suitable for ceremonial-grade matcha.
At the same time, the tea-farming industry is facing a shrinking workforce, with more and more people choosing to stay in cities rather than follow their ancestral lineage of working on rural tea farms.
Japan produces only a fraction of the world’s tea, and only a small percentage of that tea will become matcha. Most of Japan’s tea export is loose-leaf green tea. The result is a classic case of supply and demand. There simply aren’t enough trees in Japan to produce affordable matcha for the whole world.
Tea Plants Are Shade Grown Before Harvesting
For the final three weeks before a tea tree is harvested for matcha, the plants are covered with a shade cloth or a traditional screen to reduce their exposure to sunlight. This helps slow down the photosynthesis process, increasing the plants' chlorophyll and L-theanine contents while slowing the development of catechins, which can give matcha its bitter taste.
While shading helps create the smooth texture, bright green colour, and high-energy content that help provide the sustained slow-release of caffeine, it also stunts the plant’s growth, reducing its overall yield by the time the harvest comes around. The entire process is also labour-intensive. The more labour, the higher the price tag.
Processing Matcha Takes Time
Each leaf is handpicked, steamed to prevent oxidation, dried, and then transformed into tencha by carefully removing every stem, vein, and impurity. The leaves are then ground down into an ultra-fine powder using a stone mill. The destemming process, usually done by hand, isn't only time-consuming, it also means that a large portion of the leaf doesn’t make it into the final product.
The milling process is deliberately slow. Made from granite slabs that slowly rotate to crush the leaves, one mill can produce only about 30-40 grams of matcha in an hour. The mill works slowly for a few reasons. Firstly, by rotating at a slow speed, the stones don’t generate heat or friction, which would otherwise affect the delicate taste of the matcha and its nutritional profile. Second, it helps create the desired silky texture, which is essential when enjoying a ceremonial drink.
To put this into perspective, our Single Estate Blend tin contains 30 grams of matcha, while our ceremonial grade sachets contain 40 grams of matcha. That equates to ten 3-gram servings of matcha.
Modern industrial milling machines can mill much more in one hour. However, we prefer using the traditional artisanal milling techniques to maintain the ceremonial-grade quality of our powders.
Freshness is Everything
Once your matcha has made it into the tin, it still needs to be properly stored and cared for before it reaches your kitchen. Matcha is extremely sensitive to light, heat, and humidity, all of which can accelerate oxidation and spoil the powder's freshness.
Matcha needs to be sealed airtight immediately after production, kept in a cool, dry place, and refrigerated before, during, and after export. It’s often shipped in small batches to further preserve its freshness. We package our matcha in special light-resistant packaging to prevent oxidation before it reaches your front door.
Naturally, these extra packaging and handling costs all add up.
You’re Paying for Craftsmanship, Not Just Tea
Just like with a good cultivar of wine, the price of a matcha reflects the care taken to produce it. Every tin represents generations of knowledge passed through Japan’s tea-growing families. Every step of the process relies on a wealth of local knowledge and technique. Growing matcha is as much a craft as it is part of Japanese culture.
Lower-grade harvests can yield more affordable matchas, but you will notice the difference. No shading and a hurried process will result in a duller matcha with a more astringent flavour.
Once you understand the entire process from planting the seed to spending one hour grinding the leaves for just one small tin of matcha, it makes sense as to why the product comes in at a higher price than other teas and coffee.
At Ceremony South Africa, we ensure every grain of powder in our tins and packets is of the highest quality, sourced from Kagoshima, Japan, processed at the estate, and shipped responsibly to us in Cape Town. We respect and honour our Japanese farmers and cultivars, and we are confident that the matcha we sell and make makes us custodians of their craft. You’ll notice the difference when you try our new Single Estate Blend of Okumidori and Saemidori matcha in South Africa. That being said, we are in the process of creating some new products with varying prices. Sign up for updates online to stay in the loop
