Matcha is a powdered green tea that commands higher prices than regular green tea, with ceremonial grade exceeding $45 per ounce and culinary options around $6 per ounce. Higher costs stem from limited growing regions in Japan, scarcity of first-harvest shaded leaves, and intensive labor practices such as hand-picking, grading, and manual separation. Machine-harvested, non-Japanese matcha tends to be cheaper but may lack consistent quality controls. Grinding tea into a fine powder is a time-consuming manufacturing step that raises production costs. Matcha is categorized into ceremonial, premium, and culinary grades, with only ceremonial and premium intended for drinking.
If you're aware that matcha is a type of green tea, you're probably wondering why it's so much more expensive than other varieties. Of the three types of matcha, top-tier ceremonial grade runs upwards of $45 per ounce, and even the most affordable matcha for cooking can cost around $6 per ounce. Compared with regular green tea, which costs around $2.50 per ounce, matcha is considerably pricier.
You might be tempted to think it's all marketing, but there are quite a few reasons that matcha will always cost more. The first is the relative scarcity. While other types of green tea are grown in regions around the world, the plants from which matcha is sourced are only grown in certain areas of Japan with a specific terrain.
You may find more affordable matcha that has been grown outside of Japan, but it is not always subject to the same quality controls. Cheaper matcha might be harvested by machine instead of being hand-picked, graded, and manually separated. Finally, unlike other green teas, matcha is ground into a powder before sale and use. This is a very time-consuming process that also adds to the cost of production.
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