The Japanese government has been trying to help, offering support to tea growers through funding, equipment - and even counselling, to encourage a shift from regular sencha tea to matcha.
Since 2008, production of tencha, the leaf used to make matcha, has nearly tripled and exports to the US now account for about a third of Japan’s total tea exports.
Now, the world’s love affair with matcha may be tested, at the checkout counter.
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