Buying & supplier selection
Matcha Supply in Europe: Producers, Importers, Brands and Wholesalers
Matcha reaches a European café through a short list of roles: growers and tencha makers, millers and Japanese wholesalers, exporters and importers, brands, and the sellers who supply you. One company can hold several of these roles at once. What matters to you is not how many links there are, but whether the supplier you buy from can answer questions about the links before it. This guide explains each role and the questions it raises.
From leaf to powder in Japan
Japan's agriculture ministry (MAFF) describes the classic Uji process in a few stages: tea gardens are shaded before harvest, the buds are steamed and dried without rolling to make tencha, stems and veins are removed, and the leaf is ground to a fine powder in a stone mill. JETRO adds that matcha is made from tencha, and that powdered tea made from other teas is called "powdered tea", not matcha.
Those steps can happen in one place or be split between businesses: a grower, a tencha processor, a miller, a blender. That split is normal. It is also why two products with the same region on the label can taste different.
Origin names need care. The Kyoto tourism authority explains that "Uji tea" may include leaf grown in Kyoto, Nara, Shiga or Mie, when processed in Kyoto. For more on what a region name tells you, see Uji matcha origin explained.
The roles in the chain
| Role | What they do | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Grower | Cultivates and shades the tea, harvests leaf | Determines harvest and growing conditions |
| Tencha processor | Steams, dries, removes stems and veins | Determines the base material for matcha |
| Miller / blender | Grinds tencha, may blend lots for consistency | Determines milling method and batch-to-batch character |
| Japanese wholesaler or exporter | Sells to overseas buyers, handles export paperwork | Often holds the origin and production information |
| European importer | Brings goods into the EU and handles customs clearance | Often a key source of import records and documents in Europe |
| Brand | Chooses products, names and packs them, sets the use-case | Defines what "barista" or "ceremonial" means for that product |
| Wholesaler / B2B seller | Sells to cafés and hospitality, often also the brand | Your contact for samples, ordering, delivery and questions |
Some brands buy finished powder from a Japanese wholesaler and import it themselves. Others buy from a European importer. Some packing happens in Japan, some in Europe. None of these models is automatically better; each just changes who holds which information.
What each step does to price
Every role adds work and margin, but the biggest price differences usually come from the product itself: harvest, shading, processing and milling. A longer chain does not always mean a higher price, and a shorter chain does not always mean a lower one. The guide to why wholesale matcha prices differ looks at this in more detail.
For your comparison, convert every quote to the same basis: price per kg excl. VAT, then matcha cost per serving = price per kg × grams per serving ÷ 1,000.
What each step does to freshness
Published storage studies found that matcha's colour and quality decline with heat, time and oxygen (light and moisture were not tested in those studies). Every stage where the powder waits, in a warehouse or in an opened pack, is a stage where quality can drift. Useful questions are therefore about handling rather than distance:
- Is the powder sealed in the pack you receive, or repacked from a larger container in Europe?
- Is there a batch or lot reference on the pack?
- Is there a best-before date, and how is it set?
What each step does to documentation
Documents tend to sit with whoever created them. Origin and production details sit with the Japanese side. Import records sit with the importer. Batch codes sit with whoever packed the product. A good seller knows which documents exist for the current batch and can tell you plainly what is and is not available. The guide to responsible sourcing questions has a list you can send.
Questions to place your supplier in the chain
Ask these to understand where your supplier sits. You do not need every answer to buy; you need answers that are consistent.
| Question | What a clear answer tells you |
|---|---|
| Do you buy finished powder, or tencha that is milled for you? | How close they are to processing |
| Who packs the product you sell me, and where? | Who holds the batch reference |
| Who is the importer into the EU? | Who to ask for import-related documents |
| Is the region on the label the growing area or the processing area? | How to read the origin claim |
| Which documents can you share for the current batch? | Whether information flows down the chain to you |
Where Yumi fits
Yumi sells two 1 kg products to businesses: Ceremonial Barista Matcha, made for milk drinks, at €195.00 per kg excl. VAT, and Ceremonial Matcha, made for pure preparation with water and premium serves, at €265.00 per kg excl. VAT. Prices are at the time of writing (November 2026); check the product page for the current price. Both are matcha from Uji (Kyoto), Japan, first harvest, stone-milled.
For anything beyond those facts, including which documentation is available for the current batch, ask us directly.
Next step
Use the question table above with every supplier you are considering, ours included. Then let the powder speak for itself: order the 10 g samples of both products and test them in your own drinks before choosing a 1 kg bag.