Working Stock Behind the Bar: How Much Matcha to Keep Out

Behind the bar you want enough matcha to get through service without a trip to the stockroom, and no more. Working stock = daily use × target days, where daily use = drinks per day × grams per drink; most bars aim for one day, or one shift. Then pick a container that is close to full at that amount, and set a clear refill trigger.

The calculation

Daily use (g) = drinks per day × grams per drink

Working stock (g) = daily use × target days

Target days is how long one fill should last. One day (or one shift) is the usual choice for milk drinks; it keeps the matcha that sits near heat and steam as fresh as possible.

Worked examples

Bar	Drinks per day	g per drink	Daily use	Target	Working stock
Small café	15	2 g	15 × 2 = 30 g	1 day	30 g
Busy café	60	2 g	60 × 2 = 120 g	1 day	120 g
Busy café, two shifts	60	2 g	120 g	0.5 day	120 × 0.5 = 60 g per shift
Mixed sizes	30 at 2 g + 20 at 3 g	—	60 + 60 = 120 g	1 day	120 g

If you serve several cup sizes, add each size separately as in the last row. The monthly matcha budget uses the same daily-use figure to plan kilos per month.

Add a small buffer

Busy days happen. Add a buffer of about 10–20% so a strong day does not run the tin dry mid-rush. For the busy café: 120 g × 1.2 = 144 g, so plan for about 145 g.

Choosing the container

The container should be nearly full when filled with your working stock. A tin that is mostly air lets the powder take up more oxygen every time it is opened.

• Measure how many grams your container holds when filled loosely (powder compresses differently from tin to tin, so weigh it once rather than relying on the label volume).
• Choose the smallest opaque, airtight tin that holds your working stock plus buffer.
• If your daily use is high, two smaller tins (one in use, one closed in reserve) are better than one large one.

How to fill the tin from the main bag without exposing the whole bag is covered in decanting an opened 1 kg bag.

Refill triggers

Decide when the tin gets refilled, and write it down so nobody has to judge it mid-service.

Trigger	Best for
Fixed time (at opening, and at shift change)	Most bars; simplest to train
Fixed level (refill when below a marked line)	Variable traffic
Reserve tin swap (closed second tin ready, refill the empty one after rush)	High-volume bars

Whatever the trigger, do not top up old matcha with new. Use what is left first, then refill a clean, dry tin.

Two products at the bar

If you also serve pure matcha, calculate its working stock separately. A few usucha serves a day at 2 g is perhaps 10 g a day; keep a very small tin for that and refill it daily, rather than leaving a week's supply out. Label each tin clearly so Ceremonial Barista Matcha for milk drinks and Ceremonial Matcha for pure serves are never mixed up.

Worksheet

Fill this in once, then review it when your menu or volume changes.

Item	Product 1	Product 2
Drinks per day
Grams per drink
Daily use (g)
Target days per fill
Working stock (g)
Buffer (%)
Working stock incl. buffer (g)
Container chosen (capacity in g)
Refill trigger

From working stock to reordering

Working stock is the bar end of the chain. The stockroom end is when to order more. The same daily-use figure feeds into your reorder point and safety stock, so it is worth measuring accurately: count matcha drinks from your till for a typical week and divide by the number of trading days.

Next step

Take a week of till data, fill in the worksheet, and set up a working tin sized for your daily use of Ceremonial Barista Matcha in a 1 kg bag.