Japan Matcha Market Updates

US Matcha Sales Rise 86%: What Cafe Buyers Should Know

Oct 10 2026

US matcha sales increased 86% between 2022 and 2025, according to an October 8 report from TBS NEWS DIG. For cafe owners buying Japanese matcha wholesale, the important detail is not just the growth rate: the report also highlights rising prices for Japanese-origin matcha and a shift toward Chinese-origin alternatives. Demand for matcha and demand specifically for matcha produced in Japan are not necessarily the same thing.

That distinction gives buyers a useful way to read the headline. A growing category creates opportunities for drinks menus, but it does not establish how much Japanese matcha an individual cafe should purchase. The sourcing question is more specific: what origin does your menu promise, what quantities does your business actually use, and what can your supplier confirm?

US Matcha Sales Growth: What the 86% Increase Means

The reported 86% increase covers the three years from 2022 to 2025. It should therefore be read as growth across that period, not as an annual increase or a forecast for the next purchasing cycle. For buyers preparing an order, keeping the timeframe attached to the number matters as much as remembering the headline.

TBS links the boom to greater interest in health following the pandemic, social media exposure, and growing interest in Japanese culture. Its coverage connects that cultural appeal with travel to Japan and the stories surrounding tea ceremony and Zen. These are the report's explanations for consumer interest, rather than evidence that every customer chooses matcha for the same reason.

The article also reports 42.1 billion cumulative views for TikTok's #matcha hashtag as of October 6, citing the TikTok analysis website Urlebird. That figure describes online attention. It is not a count of customers, drinks sold, or orders for Japanese-produced tea, so it should not be used directly to calculate purchasing quantities.

For market context, TBS cites GRAND VIEW HORIZON figures putting the US matcha market at USD 178.6 million in 2025, with a projection of USD 340 million by 2033. The latter is a forecast, not an achieved result. Together, these figures explain why the category attracts attention, while leaving each cafe's purchasing decision dependent on its own sales.

Los Angeles Matcha Boom: A Local View of Growing Demand

The report brings the national growth story down to street level in Sawtelle, the Los Angeles neighborhood where JNN's local bureau is based. Correspondent Shumpei Yoshida describes approximately 10 shops offering matcha in the area, with stores close together and some attracting lines near the end of lunchtime.

He also gives the impression that matcha-serving shops outnumber coffee shops locally. That is a correspondent's observation about the area, not a nationwide store count or a measured comparison of business-opening rates. The useful detail for a cafe operator is the concentration of matcha offerings in one neighborhood, rather than a claim that matcha has overtaken coffee across America.

For a business considering a larger order, the Sawtelle example suggests a question worth asking: is local interest translating into repeat orders at your own counter? A visible queue elsewhere can encourage a menu review, but your drink sales provide a more relevant basis for inventory planning. Separate curiosity about the category from the quantities your business can reasonably use.

Japanese Matcha Price Pressure and the Question of Origin

The sourcing tension in the TBS report is straightforward: the global boom is accompanied by higher prices for Japanese matcha, and some businesses are switching to Chinese-origin products. The opening explicitly notes that the matcha enjoyed in America is not necessarily produced in Japan. Buyers should keep that distinction visible when discussing alternatives.

For wholesale matcha from Japan, origin is therefore a purchasing specification, not simply a reference to the drink's cultural background. If your menu specifically presents a product as Japanese matcha, a proposed replacement deserves an origin check before you approve it. The report's discussion of switching origins does not establish that the products are identical or interchangeable.

Nor should rising Japanese prices be turned into an assumed increase for a particular supplier or product. The relevant commercial question is what has changed in the offer you are reviewing. Ask for the current product price, the quantity available, and whether the quoted product remains the same. Keep those answers separate rather than treating a lower total quote as a complete comparison.

Matcha Wholesale Planning: Turn the Headline into Buying Questions

From our perspective at Matcha Wholesale Japan, the most useful response to this news is to separate origin, availability, and price in the sourcing conversation. Instead of asking only for a cheaper matcha, a buyer could ask: “Can you quote Japanese-produced matcha for our next order, confirm the available quantity, and identify any proposed product substitution?” That makes the purchasing requirement explicit without assuming what a supplier can deliver.

Our exporter-side reading is also to distinguish the order you can place now from the replenishment you hope to arrange later. When discussing wholesale matcha from Japan, ask what quantity is confirmed for the present purchase and what remains subject to a later availability check. This is a practical response to the report's price-pressure story, not a claim about a particular producer's stock or future harvest.

For cafe owners, a focused purchasing review could include the following:

Use your own recent matcha drink sales to set the next order quantity; do not apply the national 86% increase automatically.
State whether Japanese origin is a requirement before requesting alternative products or negotiating price.
Ask whether a revised quotation covers the same product and quantity as the previous offer.
Distinguish confirmed stock for the next order from unconfirmed future replenishment.

The report offers a strong demand signal, but also a reason to make sourcing conversations more precise. For buyers whose menus depend on Japanese origin, the practical task is to match actual consumption with clearly identified products and confirmed purchasing quantities.