I never thought I'd write about Matcha, but I believe that as a Co-Owner of a Coffee Shop, it's worth addressing. This is thanks to my partner and friend Gustavo Fadhel, who, upon visiting Blank Street Coffee in Washington DC, a very famous coffee chain in the United States, noticed that coffee was the least sold. This famous coffee chain divides its sales 50% Coffee and 50% Matcha. To understand this unexpected trend lets go back to history. Matcha is a Japanese tea that has been produced since the 12th century, three centuries after the first coffee bean was discovered for consumption. In Coffee Shops, tea has always been a secondary product that isn't given much importance. Suddenly, Matcha arrives, threatening to become a main product alongside coffee.
We are living in a historic moment in the consumption of Specialty Coffee Shops, and it is largely determined by Generation Z, which is beginning to make up a large portion of the workforce. Although Generation Z is a big coffee drinker, it's the one that has made this Japanese green tea fashionable. They seek a healthy and versatile beverage when it comes to preparing both hot and cold drinks with alternative plant-based milks and different flavors such as kiwi, lemon, strawberry, and pumpkin. There is a very famous case of the Black Sheep Coffee, where its creative matcha-based drinks increased sales by 315%.
The Matcha boom is due to its widespread popularity on the TikTok social network, specifically in the Fit Tok segment, which features recipes and also communicates the benefits of Matcha. This green tea contains health benefits, as it is high in antioxidants and fiber, and the caffeine hype is gradual and long-lasting, meaning it doesn't cause the famous coffee crash. Let's add that visually, it's a very aesthetically pleasing beverage, which makes it very attractive to consumers in every TikTok post.
On the other hand, not everything is beautiful with Matcha. Japan is currently the only Matcha producer, and demand is so high that a shortage is being experienced. This boom is experiencing such magnitude that tourists travel to Japan just to buy Matcha. Businesses had been forced to place a purchased limit. According to Perfect Daily Grind, global market consumption is expected to reach $4 billion by 2025, and by 2033 it will reach $7 billion. According to the Japanese Ministry of Finance, last year $247 million worth of green tea was exported, 44% of which was Matcha and exported to the United States. Four times more than the entire previous decade. The Japanese government is considering incentivizing farmers due to the labor shortage. A problem very similar to the one we are experiencing in Puerto Rico with coffee.
As coffee shop owners, we must be agile and flexible with these global trends. Generations passed, the world evolves, and yes, trends comes and goes, but they set precedents and new ways of consuming. It's not about becoming a Matcha Shop because we will fail; it's not our essence, and it's not what we want. However, as a coffee brand and coffee shop owners, we must surf the wave and adapt. At the end of the day, our goal is to promote Puerto Rican coffee. If Matcha helps us attract more fans to Cuela, our Puerto Rican coffee will always be there.
We look forward to seeing you at Cuela Coffee Shop to discover our new Matcha Menu and, of course, your favorite Puerto Rican coffee.
