A worldwide appetite for matcha has lifted exports of the powdered green tea and tripled domestic output of tencha—the leaf used to make matcha—from 1,452 tons in 2008 to 4,176 tons in 2023, according to Japan’s agriculture ministry. The United States now buys roughly a third of Japanese tea shipments, helping drive shortages of high-grade matcha and prompting the ministry to offer machinery, soil support and financial aid to farmers willing to switch from traditional sencha cultivation. The surge is welcomed by retailers but has unsettled traditionalists. Tea ceremony master Keiko Kaneko and other practitioners say the ritualistic drink, once reserved for measured sips in hushed tearooms, is being diluted by mass-market lattes, ice cream and confections from Melbourne to Los Angeles. "We don’t want this to end up just a fad, but instead make matcha a standard as a flavor and Japanese global brand," said Tomoyuki Kawai of the ministry’s tea section. Industry veterans such as Tokyo Handa-en owner Minoru Handa insist supply will catch up, though labor shortages among aging farmers remain a risk. The Global Japanese Tea Association argues lower-grade powder should be steered to mixed beverages, preserving premium matcha for ceremonial use. As Japan races to cement its status as matcha’s birthplace amid competition from China and Southeast Asia, purists and promoters alike are navigating how to balance centuries-old aesthetics with modern, global demand.