Do you like matcha ice cream, matcha puff, matcha taro circle, matcha pudding, matcha latte?

There is a shop at a subway station in Shanghai. The food sold is matcha. I haven't been there for a long time. I miss it very much. Matcha ice cream, matcha puff, matcha taro circle, matcha pudding, matcha latte. You can read it all the time without saying stop. In the era of rejecting heavy oil and sugar, matcha has a tranquil, slightly astringent taste that no one seems to particularly hate, and some people particularly like it.

According to the Nikkei News, the demand for matcha in Japan's domestic and overseas markets has increased year by year in recent years. If you also like matcha, here are some things you may be interested in.

1. When we talk about the matcha market, we often refer to the Japanese market

Matcha originated in China, rose in the Tang Dynasty and flourished in the Song Dynasty. But it is a pity that since the Ming Dynasty, matcha is no longer popular, but instead of tea, brewing soup, discarding tea dregs.

At present, the Japanese tea ceremony and Japanese matcha, which are quite famous in the world, were brought back to Japan after completing their studies in China. Japanese matcha has now become the quintessence of Japan, introduced as a gift of state guests, and praised as the best in Japan.

two。 Less and less tea is produced in Japan, but the output of matcha continues to increase.

Since 2005, the domestic tea production in Japan has been declining, but the output of ground tea, the raw material for making matcha, has been increasing, which is now at an all-time high and the trading price is also high.

According to the national agricultural combination federation of japan, the average unit price of fried tea in the Kyoto tea market fell 7% in 2015 compared with the same period last year, while the first tea of ground tea rose 27% year-on-year to 4720 yen per kilogram.

3. Matcha business is easy, and more places in Japan begin to increase production of matcha.

Yuzhi City, capital of Beijing, and Xiwei City, Aichi Prefecture are two famous producing areas of matcha in Japan. Recently, however, with the increase in demand, Shizuoka and Fukuoka prefectures, which once mainly produced fried tea, have also begun to increase production of matcha.

4. The demand for matcha for cakes, ice cream and beverages is also increasing.

The light taste makes people eat without burden, and adding matcha to the food will make the taste more supple and delicate. Maruchi, a Japanese integrated green tea manufacturer that cultivates ground tea, has received orders from Western-style dim sum manufacturers and coffee chains. The company's matcha production has increased fivefold in five years and is expected to increase at a rate of 3% a year in the future.

5. Matcha products become popular and the price of milled tea goes up, so the matcha ice cream you buy (if it's authentic) becomes more expensive.

Due to the rise in the prices of matcha and dairy products, Kyoto tea house time-honored brand "only Park Shili" has also raised the average price of seven commodities, such as "matcha ice cream", by about 10% since October.

Oh, the matcha puff seems to be a little more expensive than the original?

6. In addition to Japan and China, this light taste is also popular in the United States.

Nearly half of Japanese tea exports go to the United States, the word "MATCHA" has been widely used, fruit juices and coffee drinks with matcha elements are becoming more and more common, and overseas is a growing market for Japanese tea.

Due to hot demand in overseas markets, Itoyuan, a Japanese manufacturer of green tea products, has extended the time from receiving orders to shipping from one month to two months, and the company's overall tea exports in 2015 will increase by 10% year-on-year, to about 500 tons. Among them, matcha and related products account for more than half.

7. Japanese manufacturers are willing to change for the preferences of overseas consumers.

Matsumoto, a Japanese time-honored tea manufacturer and wholesaler, plans to join hands with German companies to explore and develop the European market.

Sugimoto Sugimoto, president of Matsumoto Tea Shop, said: "Japanese values cannot be applied mechanically. Overseas, there are also many consumers who like sweetened tea or fragrant tea. Therefore, it is very important to cater to the posture of consumer preferences. "

8. Well, let's go back to the Chinese market. The matcha ice cream you usually eat may be green tea.

In the global green tea export market, which includes matcha, Chinese production accounts for 70% and has an overwhelming market share. Although the share of Japanese production has increased, it is only about 1%.

However, China mainly makes matcha by grinding ordinary green tea into powder, while Japan uses ground tea. Due to the complexity of making matcha and exquisite raw materials, people often eat biscuits, cakes and ice cream using green tea powder rather than real matcha, and the price difference between the two is said to be more than 30 times.

Even so, because China is on the offensive at less than half the price of Japanese matcha, it is easy for Japanese matcha to be involved in price competition.

Source: curiosity Daily