Comparing Matcha Suppliers: Total Cost Beyond the Price per Kilo

Price per kilo is the easiest number to compare and the least reliable on its own. The number that matters is the landed matcha cost per drink you actually sell: price plus shipping, spread over the grams you can really use, at the dose your test says you need. The worksheet below turns two or three quotes into that one figure, so you can compare suppliers on equal terms.

The seven lines that change the answer

Line	Why it matters
1. Price per kg excl. VAT	The starting point; always compare excl. VAT
2. Shipping per order	Small orders carry shipping over fewer grams
3. Minimum order or pack size	Forces you to buy more than you need, or more often
4. Usable yield	Grams lost to sieving, spills, test drinks and stale ends
5. Dose needed	Set by your own test, not the supplier's suggestion
6. Waste from over-ordering	Powder you throw away because it sat open too long
7. VAT treatment	Cash timing and whether VAT is charged or self-accounted

The formulas

Use these exactly, in this order:

• Landed cost per kg = (price per kg × kg ordered + shipping) ÷ kg ordered
• Usable quantity = purchased × (1 − loss %)
• Cost per usable kg = landed cost per kg ÷ (1 − loss %)
• Matcha cost per serving = cost per usable kg × grams per serving ÷ 1,000

The last formula is the standard one (price per kg × grams ÷ 1,000), applied to the landed, loss-adjusted price.

Worked example (hypothetical suppliers)

Hypothetical: a café compares three quotes for a matcha for lattes. Supplier R and Supplier T are invented for illustration. The third line uses Yumi's published price; all doses and loss rates, including Yumi's, are invented example figures to replace with your own test results.

Line	Supplier R	Supplier T	Yumi Ceremonial Barista
Price per kg excl. VAT	€150.00	€120.00	€195.00
Order size	1 kg	2 kg (minimum)	1 kg
Shipping	€15.00	€0.00	€0.00
Landed cost per kg	(150 + 15) ÷ 1 = €165.00	(240 + 0) ÷ 2 = €120.00	€195.00
Loss % (this café's estimate)	6%	15%	6%
Cost per usable kg	165 ÷ 0.94 = €175.53	120 ÷ 0.85 = €141.18	195 ÷ 0.94 = €207.45
Dose from own test	2.5 g	3 g	2 g
Matcha cost per serving	175.53 × 2.5 ÷ 1,000 = €0.44	141.18 × 3 ÷ 1,000 = €0.42	207.45 × 2 ÷ 1,000 = €0.41

All figures excl. VAT, rounded to the cent. Yumi's price is at the time of writing (November 2026); check the product page for the current price. These are matcha costs only, not the cost of the drink.

What the example shows

• The cheapest price per kilo (Supplier T, €120) lands in the middle once you add the higher dose and the extra loss from a 2 kg minimum that sits open longer.
• The highest price per kilo (€195) gives the lowest cost per serving here, because this café's test settled on 2 g.
• Supplier R's €15 shipping adds €15 ÷ 1,000 g × 2.5 g = about €0.04 per serving on a 1 kg order.

Change the dose by half a gram and the ranking can change. That is why the dose line must come from your own test, not from the supplier's suggestion. Set it with a blind side-by-side test of each sample in your house recipe.

Estimating loss honestly

Loss is the line buyers most often leave at zero. Include:

• powder left in the sieve and on the scale;
• remade drinks and spills;
• test and training drinks;
• the end of a bag discarded because it went stale.

The last one grows when an order is larger than you can use in reasonable time. If a minimum order of 2 kg means one kilo sits open for months, your loss estimate should rise. The guide to reducing matcha waste shows how to measure your real rate.

VAT treatment: note it, do not mix it in

Compare every price excl. VAT. Then add a separate note on how VAT is handled, because it affects cash timing even when the net cost is the same. For an EU business buying from another EU country with a valid VAT number, the general rule is that the buyer accounts for VAT at home; our VAT explainer for EU businesses covers this, and is not tax advice.

Blank worksheet

Line	Supplier 1	Supplier 2	Supplier 3
Price per kg excl. VAT
Order size (kg)
Shipping (€)
Landed cost per kg
Loss %
Cost per usable kg
Dose from own test (g)
Matcha cost per serving
Minimum order?
VAT treatment (note)
Sample available?

Beyond the number

Cost per serving decides between products that pass your test. It does not replace the test. A drink that costs €0.03 less but tastes flatter in oat milk may cost you more in repeat orders than it saves. A weighted supplier scorecard puts cost alongside performance and documentation, and why wholesale matcha prices differ explains what sits behind a price per kilo. For the full serving-cost tables, see matcha cost per serving.

Yumi's lines for your worksheet

Ceremonial Barista Matcha (1 kg) is €195.00 per kg excl. VAT; Ceremonial Matcha (1 kg) is €265.00 per kg excl. VAT, both at the time of writing (November 2026); check the product page for the current price. Shipping is €0 to countries in our delivery zone (EU countries plus Norway and Georgia). For minimum order and other terms, see the B2B FAQ.

Next step

Fill in the worksheet with real quotes, but leave the dose line empty until you have tested. The 10 g samples are €4.95 each excl. VAT at the time of writing and give you the dose figure to complete the comparison.