No more matcha? How demand for powdered Japanese tea is leading to global shortages
Of the 25 types of matcha on the menu at Kettl Tea, a minimalist matcha bar in Los Angeles, all but four are out of stock, due to a global shortage driven by the powdered Japanese tea's social media stardom.
'One of the things we struggle with is telling customers that, unfortunately, we don't have what they want,' says Zach Mangan, the shop's founder.
With matcha's deep grassy aroma, intense colour and pick-me-up effects, its popularity 'has grown just exponentially over the last decade,
but much more so in the last two to three years ', the 40-year-old explains.
It is now 'a cultural touchpoint in the Western world', found everywhere from ice-cream flavour boards to Starbucks.
Kettl Tea customers with their matcha drinks in Los Angeles. Photo: AFP
This has caused the market for matcha to nearly double over a year, Mangan says.
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