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Why is matcha often more expensive than other kinds of tea?
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tea
Rows of tea (Camellia sinensis) growing in Japan, with Mount Fuji in the background.
Matcha is often more expensive than other types of tea due to its highly specialized and labor-intensive production process.12
To produce high-quality matcha, growers must adhere to strict cultivation and processing standards:
- Shade-Grown Cultivation: The tea plants are grown in the shade to increase chlorophyll levels, which results in the tea's characteristic bright green color.12
- Selective Harvesting: Only the buds and the top three layers of the young Camellia sinensis plant are harvested.12
- Exacting Processing: After harvesting, the leaves are steamed to stop oxidation, carefully deveined, and then ground into a fine powder using traditional stone mills.12
These exacting requirements—from the specific growing conditions to the manual labor involved in refining the leaves—contribute to its status as one of the most expensive teas on the market.12