The recent record-high auction prices for autumn–winter bancha in Kagoshima have sent waves through Japan’s tea industry.
While prices have been rising since July when reports first showed a five-fold increase, few expected the autumn–winter harvest to reach nearly seven times the usual level.
Why this is surprising
Bancha is typically made from coarser, later-season leaves, the kind that would normally be more accessible and affordable. It represents a farmer’s effort to make full use of the tea plant, often after the main harvests are complete.
Yet it is rare for Bancha, rather than first-harvest teas like Sencha or Gyokuro, to make national headlines for its price. This time, however, the situation is different.
The Matcha boom and its ripple effect
The world turns their attention on Matcha. Global demand has surged, and so have discussions about Matcha shortages and sustainability. What many do not realise is beneath this attention lies a quieter concern: the rest of Japan’s tea industry.
From our conversations with tea farm partners, we’ve learned that fewer farms are producing leaf teas such as Sencha, Gyokuro, and Hojicha. Younger farmers, seeing the rising matcha market, are turning to Tencha production (raw material for matcha), and even long-established farms are converting their fields to follow the trend.
While matcha still faces a volume challenge, this shift has led to an imbalance in supply: more producers focusing on matcha, and fewer cultivating the leaves used for Japan’s traditional brewed teas.
The result: a chain reaction in prices
The recent Bancha price spike illustrates this imbalance. Bancha originates from Sencha plants, and with fewer farms maintaining Sencha production, overall supply tightens.
Farmers are hesitant to raise prices, many would rather endure hardship than pass costs to buyers, yet the current volatility has made it unavoidable. The noticeable increase in prices began in the spring harvest has continued unbroken through the summer and into the autumn and winter seasons.
What this means for Komeru
At Komeru, we view this as a signal of deeper shifts within Japan’s tea landscape. It reminds us why we exist: to support the farmers who dedicate their lives to this craft, and to ensure that their work continues to be valued.
We hope that through Komeru, more people will come to understand and appreciate the full spectrum of Japanese tea, beyond matcha alone. Because every tea, from Sencha to Bancha, carries the same sincerity of the farms.