Last year, the global demand for matcha put an unprecedented strain on Japan’s tea industry, and it’s likely to happen again.
Murmurs of the “matcha shortage” have been circulating since last fall, when well-known Kyoto tea companies Ippodo and Marukyu Koyamaen announced purchase limits on the finely ground tea powder for the first time. Tourists and local consumers found many stores completely sold out of certain products from these companies and others.
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