Regional desk
Kyoto & Uji tea industry news
Updated · 79 free stories
Uji grows a fraction of Japan's tea and sets the price of the part everyone wants. The season's first tencha auction hit a ten-year high of ¥14,000 per kilogram, and the Uji tea market closed its 2026 season at a record ¥12.94 billion as the world queued for matcha's raw leaf.
The name is the other story. "Uji" is turning up on foreign-made matcha, and the region's answer runs from brand protection to the patient end of the craft — the hand-rolling tradition now in its 56th year of formal training. This desk follows the auctions, the market, the protection fight and the craft, from the Kyoto press, every morning.
The latest
- Ippodo evening tea tasting in central Tokyo Ippodo, the Kyoto tea specialist founded in 1717, will host a September 4, 2026 evening event at Marunouchi Happ. Store featuring 15-minute lectures on matcha, gyokuro, sencha, and hojicha with tastings. The event includes drop-in tea service and arranged drinks like sencha spiced milk tea and tea-based cocktails, alongside conversation and light bites.
- Saga matcha zenzai and heritage tofu walk A travel feature follows a walking route north from crowded Arashiyama into Saga, featuring a 170-year-old tofu shop (Sagatafu Mori-ka) that supplies local Buddhist temples, and a 2023 café serving cold matcha zenzai named after a classical Noh play performed at nearby Ryōanji temple. The article traces local cultural landmarks including a collection of 200,000 dolls and a preserved historic streetscape, positioning the area as a living archive of Japanese cultural heritage.
- Uji tea market peaks at 12.94 billion yen Uji tea's trading volume reached 12.94 billion yen in the 2026 season (April 24–July 31), a historic high driven by global matcha demand. Tencha output hit 595 tonnes, the largest since the market's 1974 opening, with machine-harvested tencha commanding 10.1 billion yen at an average 17,250 yen/kg—the highest on record since 1996. However, tea wholesalers express concern that steep price rises across all categories will price out ordinary consumers and accelerate tea consumpt…
- Japan matcha shortage; China captures 70% of global supply Japan's matcha exports reached a record 12,600 tonnes in 2025, up 43% year-on-year, yet domestic shortages persist as global demand outpaces supply. The constraint stems from matcha's labour-intensive production: tencha requires 20–40 days of shade cultivation, and traditional stone mills produce only 40 grams per hour. Meanwhile, China now supplies approximately 70% of global matcha, with production exceeding 12,000 tonnes, leveraging land abundance, labour availability, and…
- Matcha boom sustainability questioned as prices rise Japanese green tea exports are on track to double year-over-year in 2025, driven by global matcha latte demand, but prices are soaring and cheaper overseas imitations are entering the market. A Kyoto-Uji tea merchant warns that producers must sustain tencha production after the boom subsides, and that domestic brands must compete on quality and terroir rather than volume or price to remain competitive over the next 10–20 years. The government has begun registering Japanese te…
Every open story
August 2026
- QBB launches Uji matcha cheese ball PR TIMES — Matcha
- Hankyu Umeda matcha sweets market opens Google News — Matcha / Tea Industry
- Exchange students taste fried chicken in sencha Google News — Matcha / Tea Industry
- Marc Falzon and the 5%
- Kyo Hayashiya Kyoto reopens with heritage matcha sweets Google News — Matcha / Tea Industry
- Seven firsts: the company that names the farmer
- Uji merchant explains tea-brewing fundamentals Kyoto Shimbun — Tea / Uji
July 2026
- Yamamoto Yama modernizes Edo tea traditions Google News — Harvest / Competitions / Market
- Uji hand-rolling tea craft training marks 56th year Google News — Uji / Kyoto
- Counterfeit Uji matcha flooding China market FNNプライムオンライン（フジテレビ系）
- Thai matcha brand MTCH partners with Uji pottery Google News — Matcha / Tea Industry
- Uji marks first-flush season with family tea-picking event Google News — Harvest / Competitions / Market
- Japan registers Japanese tea as GI trademark Google News — Matcha / Tea Industry
- Kyoto patisserie launches Uji matcha cream puff Google News — Uji / Kyoto
- Hiroshima hotel debuts Uji matcha shaved ice Google News — Matcha / Tea Industry
- Kyoto wax-dye art meets tea space PR TIMES — Japanese Tea
- Actress enjoys single-cultivar Uji matcha flight Google News — Uji / Kyoto
- Chinese matcha mislabeled 'Uji' amid global boom Google News — Matcha / Tea Industry
- 800 years of Japanese tea in Yamashiro Google News — Matcha / Tea Industry
- Sushiro x Morihan matcha brûlée cheesecake tasting Google News — Matcha / Tea Industry
- Kyotanabe launches gyokuro sauna experience Google News — Harvest / Competitions / Market
- Zenkyu Matcha expands London partnerships PR TIMES — Matcha
- nana's green tea launches limited Yamamasa Koyamaen matcha Google News — Uji / Kyoto
June 2026
- Nana's green tea launches Uji matcha parfait Google News — Uji / Kyoto
- MAMIDORI matcha madeleine pop-up returns to Osaka PR TIMES — Matcha
- Kyoto matcha sweet souvenir wows fans Google News — Overseas / Boom
- Gion Tsujiri 'Bububuru' opens at Hankyu Umeda Google News — Harvest / Competitions / Market
- nana's green tea Pasadena draws 2-hour opening waits PR TIMES — Matcha
- Kyoto baumkuchen cafe revamps matcha dessert plates PR TIMES — Matcha
- Japan tea group files GI to fight fakes Asahi Shimbun Digital — Tea / Matcha
- Campanella Tokyo launches Uji matcha confection Google News — Matcha / Tea Industry
- nana's green tea opens Sydney Haymarket cafe PR TIMES — Japanese Tea
- Nana's green tea opens Sydney Haymarket store PR TIMES — Matcha
- Kyo Baum baumkuchen shop opens at Kyoto Station PR TIMES — Matcha
- Ryotan Tea Competition judges gyokuro, tencha quality Google News — Harvest / Competitions / Market
- Ippodo 2026 shincha now available Google News — Harvest / Competitions / Market
- Matcha boom floods Kyoto with tea-picker applicants Google News — Overseas / Boom
- Matcha boom floods Kyoto with tea-picker applicants Google News — Matcha / Tea Industry
- MAMIDORI launches Father's Day matcha sweets set PR TIMES — Matcha
- Uji holds tencha, gyokuro quality competition Kyoto Shimbun — Tea / Uji
- Joyo tencha judged 'generally excellent' this spring Kyoto Shimbun — Tea / Uji
- Gion Tsujiri launches tea-tin gift series PR TIMES — Japanese Tea
- First picking at Japan's northernmost tea field Google News — Uji / Kyoto
- Kochoan cafe relaunches Uji matcha shaved ice PR TIMES — Matcha
- Sushiro x Morihan matcha sweets collab Google News — Matcha / Tea Industry
- Kochouan revives premium matcha pudding by reservation PR TIMES — Matcha
- Fukujuen opens Kansai Airport store, premium series PR TIMES — Matcha
- Itohkyuemon launches Uji matcha hydrangea sweets fair Google News — Uji / Kyoto
- Osaka tea café offers free matcha refills PR TIMES — Matcha
May 2026
- KOTOSHINA releases 2026 shincha Google News — Uji / Kyoto
- Uji matcha tourism guide at historic shops Google News — Uji / Kyoto
- Daimaru Tokyo launches parfait popularity vote PR TIMES — Matcha
- Uji mayor encourages tea pickers Google News — Uji / Kyoto
- Saint-Germain launches Mori-Han Uji matcha latte PR TIMES — Matcha
- Saint-Germain launches Uji matcha latte Google News — Uji / Kyoto
- Lawson launches Morihan Uji matcha smoothie Google News — Uji / Kyoto
- Tasting new tea in Minamiyamashiro Village Google News — Harvest / Competitions / Market
- Tencha first auction hits 10-year price high Google News — Matcha / Tea Industry
- Food truck begins online organic matcha sales Google News — Matcha / Tea Industry
- Ochazuke School Lunch Honors Green Tea Pioneer Google News — Uji / Kyoto
- Gion Tsujiri relaunches matcha castella cake PR TIMES — Matcha
- FamilyMart Debuts Three New Matcha Pastries Google News — 日本茶 / 抹茶 / 茶業
- MATCHAMON matcha latte stand opens at Kanazawa Station PR TIMES — Matcha
- Matcha boom is destroying Japan's tea industry PR TIMES — Japanese Tea
- Sip Authentic Matcha at Historic Uji Teahouse Google News — Uji / Kyoto
- Teapot-free drip Japanese tea debuts in Kyoto PR TIMES — Japanese Tea
March 2026
- Uji-cha GAP inspection sheets posted online Uji Tea (Kyoto Tea Co-op)
December 2025
- Tea farmer studies terroir, plans 2026 projects Tea Nursery
November 2025
August 2025
- Summer harvest surge driven by tencha demand Tea Nursery
July 2025
- Summer tea event at Kyoto's Minamiyamashiro hotel PR TIMES — Uji Tea
May 2025
- Shading begins; harvest countdown underway Tea Nursery
April 2025
- Kyoto shop launches Uji-tea fruit jellies PR TIMES — Uji Tea
January 2024
- Uji frost damage rising with climate shift J-STAGE — Tea Research Report
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