481

I asked via Instagram today what people thought the number 481 might represent...

... the answer is ...

481 %

we are now paying an eye watering 481% MORE for our matcha green tea.

Since March we have just been absorbing the additional cost, but when our tea reserves ran out and we had to place a new order, we realized there was no realistic way of continuing like this.

The price we now pay for our matcha has increased by 481% compared to last year.

To put that into perspective: this is not a small adjustment. It is a completely different cost level.

The global matcha craze has pushed demand through the roof. Last year, matcha was even reported as being sold out worldwide in several grades, with producers struggling to keep up. What used to be a relatively stable, niche ingredient has turned into a global shortage product almost overnight.

But matcha is not an industrial commodity.

It is sacred in its origin, deeply tied to Japanese tea culture, and extremely delicate to produce. The plants are shade-grown for weeks, carefully hand-harvested, and stone-ground in small batches. The yield per harvest is low, the process is slow, and quality depends heavily on skilled farming passed down through generations.

That combination of rising global demand and inherently limited production, has created a situation where prices have escalated dramatically.

We are continuing to do everything we can to keep our pricing as stable as possible. Instead of increasing prices across the board, we will only adjust what is absolutely necessary.

However, we may have to seriously reconsider whether we can continue offering Matcha ice cream at all. Even with the slight price adjustment on our end, it is becoming barely sustainable to produce this flavour and in no means does our minimal price increased balance out with the 481% more we are paying for the tea. We are hoping the market stabilises before we are forced into making any further drastic decisions.

This is where we are today.