Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.
Speaker 2: Jasmin Smith is a designer living in Japan. She and
Speaker 2: her sister Freya make videos about their everyday life in
Speaker 2: Tokyo in their spare time.
Speaker 1: Welcome back to Dan life living in Tokyo today.
Speaker 2: And there's one thing they love about living in Japan.
Speaker 2: Japanese green tea, also known as.
Speaker 1: Macha Macha just tastes amazing. We both used to be
Speaker 1: coffee drinkers, actually, but at some point matcha just took
Speaker 1: over as our go to caffeine source and it's been
Speaker 1: part of our morning routines ever since.
Speaker 2: They started posting videos on TikTok in twenty twenty two,
Speaker 2: sharing their favorite macha cafes, daily morning routines and telling
Speaker 2: their thousands of TikTok followers where they can get the
Speaker 2: best macha powder online and in Tokyo. But a couple
Speaker 2: of months ago, they were surprised when they went to
Speaker 2: get their usual macha fix at this tiny store in
Speaker 2: their neighborhood.
Speaker 1: Just run by an elderly woman, and she told me that, yeah,
Speaker 1: she has nothing to sell to me unfortunately. And recently
Speaker 1: she told us that a lot of foreigners, a lot
Speaker 1: of young people are visiting her shop, so every time
Speaker 1: she restocks, she instantly sells out, which never used to happen.
Speaker 2: Bloomberg reporter Mia Glass, who's based in Tokyo, also noticed
Speaker 2: this happening at macha stores around her.
Speaker 3: Macha has just completely blown up overseas. People come to
Speaker 3: Japan and they know about macha from social media, They've
Speaker 3: studied it, and they really want that high quality type
Speaker 3: of macha when they come here. So there's a huge
Speaker 3: shortage of macha in Japan.
Speaker 2: Welcome to The Big Take Asia from Bloomberg News. I'm Wanha.
Speaker 2: Every week we take you inside some of the world's
Speaker 2: biggest and most powerful economies and the markets, tycoons and
Speaker 2: businesses that drive this ever shifting region. Today on the
Speaker 2: show the Macha Mania, what's driving this macha boom and
Speaker 2: why can't macha makers in Japan keep up? Mia, It's
Speaker 2: great to have you, thanks for joining us.
Speaker 3: Thank you so much for having me so.
Speaker 2: Because today's episode is all about macha. I've got a
Speaker 2: cup of cold macha with almond milk here with me
Speaker 2: in the studio in Hong Kong. Mia, what are you drinking?
Speaker 3: So I got an iced Macha latta, which is my
Speaker 3: go to order, and I got it from this Macha
Speaker 3: cafe that's actually near our office building. It's by this
Speaker 3: amazing family run Japanese tea company that's been around for
Speaker 3: like three hundred years.
Speaker 2: Oh that's amazing. Now, shall we give these macha drinks
Speaker 2: a taste?
Speaker 1: Yes?
Speaker 3: Cheers?
Speaker 2: Hmm. This one is not quite bitter enough for me.
Speaker 2: I think it's been It has too much almond milk unfortunately.
Speaker 2: But I can still get the flavor of the macha,
Speaker 2: you know.
Speaker 3: I just love how unique the taste is, kind of
Speaker 3: like this mix of umami but also bitter, sometimes a
Speaker 3: little sweet. So it's just a flavor you can't really
Speaker 3: get from anything else.
Speaker 2: Mia. Tell us exactly what is macha?
Speaker 3: Yeah, so, macha is a Japanese word. It means powdered
Speaker 3: tea and Japanese. So it's a type of green tea
Speaker 3: where the entire leaf is grounded into this powder.
Speaker 2: This way of making green tea originated from China in
Speaker 2: the twelfth century. A Japanese monk who was traveling there
Speaker 2: was so impressed with the energy boost the drink gave
Speaker 2: him that he brought it back with him to Japan.
Speaker 2: It's said that Japanese monks used to drink macha to
Speaker 2: stay awake during long meditation sessions, and today macha is
Speaker 2: at the center of Japanese tea ceremonies that are performed
Speaker 2: for cultural and religious purposes.
Speaker 3: Depending on the tea ceremony, there will be different types
Speaker 3: of macha, like a thinner macha or a thicker one.
Speaker 3: There's specific steps that they have to go through. It's
Speaker 3: carefully whisked into this frothy drink that you drink at
Speaker 3: the end, and it's a practice that emphasizes a lot
Speaker 3: of Japanese values like mindful illness, harmony, tranquility, respect of
Speaker 3: those kinds of things.
Speaker 2: And macha isn't just for traditional ceremonies. You'll find it
Speaker 2: everywhere you go in Japan.
Speaker 3: In Tokyo, there's a macha cafe on like every block here.
Speaker 3: Everything is macha now, bubble tea, cakes, cookies, even in
Speaker 3: coffee shops here they usually have macha now, so you
Speaker 3: can pick between the two.
Speaker 2: Japan is one of the world's largest producers of macha.
Speaker 2: The country made about four thousand tons of the powdered
Speaker 2: tea in twenty twenty three. That's almost a threefold increase
Speaker 2: from two thousand and eight and an all time high,
Speaker 2: and in recent years it's becoming more popular overseas. Last year,
Speaker 2: Japan's export of green tea, which includes macha, reached a
Speaker 2: record high of about two hundred and forty five million
Speaker 2: US dollars. That's a roughly quarter increase from the previous year.
Speaker 2: But despite the record level of production, Japan has a
Speaker 2: macha shortage. Shops sell at a macha as as soon
Speaker 2: as they hit the shelves, forcing people to go out
Speaker 2: of their way to find the tea powder, and some
Speaker 2: of the most prominent macha producers have also stopped selling
Speaker 2: certain products and limits the number of cans of macha
Speaker 2: customers can buy at a time. Mia says there's one
Speaker 2: clear driver for the increasing demand.
Speaker 3: People on TikTok and Instagram and other social media platforms
Speaker 3: have really made an esthetic out of macha. It has
Speaker 3: this bright green color that is really attractive for social media,
Speaker 3: and so people will show off that bright green macha
Speaker 3: lte or desserts, and people even have macha stations complete
Speaker 3: with traditional mugs and whisks and strainers and things like that,
Speaker 3: and they will decorate it. So it's really this aesthetic
Speaker 3: that people have jumped on, and then of course there's
Speaker 3: a nutritional aspect as well.
Speaker 2: The craze for macha comes at a time when there's
Speaker 2: been a growing interest in health and wellness products. You'll
Speaker 2: hear social media influencers talk about the health benefits macha offers.
Speaker 2: It's rich and antioxidant, same caffeine, which some saudies suggests
Speaker 2: can help boost energy and lower risk of diseases. And
Speaker 2: on top of these viral social media videos contributing to
Speaker 2: the shortage, Mia says, there's just a lot of people
Speaker 2: traveling to Japan and buying macha in person.
Speaker 3: There are so many tourists in Japan right now, mainly
Speaker 3: thanks to the week yen, so basically everything is on
Speaker 3: sale once you get to Japan, and there's also just
Speaker 3: generally more interest in Japan. Last year, thirty seven million
Speaker 3: people visit the country, which is a record, and it's
Speaker 3: up forty seven percent from twenty twenty three. A lot
Speaker 3: of videos on TikTok and Instagram show a lot of
Speaker 3: people recording macha. I saw a few videos of people
Speaker 3: literally having a suitcase full of macha, you know, from
Speaker 3: different stores to try the different flavors and stuff like that.
Speaker 3: Because they're only in Japan for you know, a week
Speaker 3: or two, they're like, oh my god, I have to
Speaker 3: buy up all this macha while I'm here. So people
Speaker 3: definitely are buying a lot of macha, and that's definitely
Speaker 3: contributing to the shortage.
Speaker 2: While Japanese have been drinking less green tea over the years,
Speaker 2: outside of Japan, the appetite from macha is expanding. Cafes
Speaker 2: and tea stores as far as Sydney and Australia have
Speaker 2: seen sales skyrocket, forcing owners to limit customer purchases because
Speaker 2: they're unable to source more of the tea powder from
Speaker 2: Japan After the break, Why can't Japanese tea producers just
Speaker 2: make more macha? Growing fine quality macha has a lot
Speaker 2: to do with the land and the climate. The plant
Speaker 2: needs to be shaded, the soil needs to drain well
Speaker 2: but also retain a decent amount of water. And while
Speaker 2: macha is produced in a variety of regions in Japan,
Speaker 2: there's one particular place renowned for this highly prized tea.
Speaker 3: So the most famous region is Uji, which is on
Speaker 3: the southeast border of Kyoto, and that's where macha farmers
Speaker 3: have master techniques of growing and harvesting the best macha
Speaker 3: and they've been doing this for centuries.
Speaker 2: Mia, can you walk us through the life cycle of macha?
Speaker 2: How is macha made?
Speaker 3: So it's a very long process. So basically in a farm,
Speaker 3: you have just rows and rows of tea plants in April,
Speaker 3: the first shoots of the season are going to appear,
Speaker 3: and then the tea plants are gradually shaded over time,
Speaker 3: so that blocks the direct sunlight for the plants. That
Speaker 3: gives it that chlorophyll, that bright green color, and it
Speaker 3: also enhances the taste and also gives it antioxidants which
Speaker 3: gives you that nutritional component.
Speaker 2: The highest grades of macha are usually grown in almost
Speaker 2: darkness before they're harvested around late April or May. The
Speaker 2: green tea leaves are handpicked and hours after they're harvested,
Speaker 2: they have to be steamed for less than a minute.
Speaker 2: That stops the oxidation process and keeps the leaves green.
Speaker 2: Then the leaves are left to dry, they're de stemmed
Speaker 2: and deveined.
Speaker 3: At this point they are called tensa. So this tensa
Speaker 3: will be blended together basically to make different flavor profiles.
Speaker 3: So that's also a part of the farmer's experience and knowledge.
Speaker 3: They know how to blend the macha to make certain flavors,
Speaker 3: and then after it's been stored in a refrigerator, it's
Speaker 3: going to get grinded to turn into the maucha powder
Speaker 3: that we know in stores.
Speaker 2: So that does sound like a long and arduous process,
Speaker 2: but certainly not impossible, right, Why can't supply just.
Speaker 3: Keep up with the demand. Yeah, so the whole process
Speaker 3: that I just described, it only happens once a year
Speaker 3: for the most premium types of macha, so farmers can't
Speaker 3: harvest more on demand. The annual supply is usually determined
Speaker 3: well in advance, and it's obviously a really slow precise
Speaker 3: process as well. So the traditional stone mills only grind
Speaker 3: about forty grams of macha per hour, and specialized macha
Speaker 3: processing machines are super limited in number, so increasing production
Speaker 3: speed would definitely compromise the quality of the macha. And
Speaker 3: also a lot of these types of produce are pretty
Speaker 3: much made by family run businesses in Japan, and obviously
Speaker 3: Japan has a declining population, it's asing and there's not
Speaker 3: enough people to take over those farms in the future,
Speaker 3: so there's really just a decline and supply for that
Speaker 3: reason as well.
Speaker 2: Another reason for the macha crunch is that Japanese tea
Speaker 2: producers tend to prioritize long standing customers. Marukio Koyamin, one
Speaker 2: of the leading brands of macha in Japan, says it
Speaker 2: needs to restrict sales to make sure there's enough supply
Speaker 2: for customers at temples, shrines, and other venues that use
Speaker 2: macha for religious or ceremonial purposes mia. Is there any
Speaker 2: protective policy in place here? Why can't Japan just import,
Speaker 2: for example, fresh tea from overseas and process it at home.
Speaker 3: There's definitely some national or cultural pride ut play here.
Speaker 3: It's not like Japan has any rules about importing from
Speaker 3: other countries or regulations, but it's really more just about
Speaker 3: what people want. I think a lot of people in
Speaker 3: Japan really just love Japanese macha and they really trust
Speaker 3: the quality that these Japanese farmers bring because they've just
Speaker 3: been doing it for centuries. So I think a lot
Speaker 3: of Japanese people, although they'd be fine with drinking macha
Speaker 3: that's imported from other countries, they probably want to have
Speaker 3: that Japanese macha.
Speaker 2: Mia says. Farmers in other countries like the US, South Korea,
Speaker 2: and China are trying to make more of their own macha,
Speaker 2: but it's hard to replicate the kind of macha you
Speaker 2: get in Japan, and that's because of a combination of
Speaker 2: climate and soil so specific to the country, not to
Speaker 2: mention the centuries Japan is spent on perfecting the growing
Speaker 2: and processing techniques. Mia, is there anything that the Japanese
Speaker 2: government can do to help the macha supply catch up.
Speaker 3: The government is basically promoting more farmers to make tensha
Speaker 3: rather than other types of teas right now, because that
Speaker 3: can be turned into macha, and they're also supporting the
Speaker 3: tea industry as a whole through various subsidies and programs
Speaker 3: to encourage tea growing and also just promoting research in general.
Speaker 3: Because the problems like the Asian population and also climate
Speaker 3: change heavily affects the production of macha. They're really trying
Speaker 3: to research what's the best method to continue to make
Speaker 3: more macha.
Speaker 2: Those government measures will take some time to bear fruit
Speaker 2: if they ever do. Meanwhile, Mia says, for macha lovers
Speaker 2: living in Japan. Now, the difficulty in getting this unique
Speaker 2: green tea powder is just another inconvenient side effect of
Speaker 2: Japan's tourism boom.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's definitely one of the ways that the tourism
Speaker 3: issue is manifesting in Japan. I know there are a
Speaker 3: lot of locals who are really angry that there are
Speaker 3: so many tourists in the streets and in shops. I
Speaker 3: also hear complaints about people don't want Airbnbs in their
Speaker 3: neighborhood because of the garbage and the noise and things
Speaker 3: like that. And then I know in Kyoto, for example,
Speaker 3: the buses have been so crowded that a lot of
Speaker 3: the locals who are going to work have to wait
Speaker 3: for like three buses to pass because there are so
Speaker 3: many tourists, especially with like suitcases. So I think there
Speaker 3: are a lot of locals who are a bit upset
Speaker 3: about the over tourism right now.
Speaker 2: Despite some of these public complaints, the Japanese government says
Speaker 2: it wants to attract more tourists. Its goal is to
Speaker 2: welcome sixty million foreign visitors a year by twenty thirty.
Speaker 2: That's a jump of more than sixty percent from last
Speaker 2: year's record, and that Mia says might add more pressure
Speaker 2: on macha's supply.
Speaker 3: Your macha lattes will probably become more expensive if the
Speaker 3: shortage continues. And I know a lot of new macha
Speaker 3: businesses and cafes, not just in Japan, but all over
Speaker 3: the world are having a really hard time finding tea
Speaker 3: producers with enough to sell. I've heard that wholesalers and
Speaker 3: Japan just have to turn down new clients because a
Speaker 3: lot of the macha for the next harvest is already reserved.
Speaker 3: So that's going to cafes and Japan that are trying
Speaker 3: to start out, and cafes abroad. I know a lot
Speaker 3: of cafes in foreign countries are starting to jump on
Speaker 3: this macha tron, but it's almost too late because there's
Speaker 3: just no supply.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think we should drink our drinks, our macha
Speaker 2: drinks while we can still afford them. Of course, enjoy, cheers, cheers.
Speaker 2: This is the Big Take Asia from Bloomberg News. I'm
Speaker 2: wan ha. This episode was produced by Naomi M Young
Speaker 2: Young and Jessica Beck. It was edited by Grace Jennings
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