What is a normal minimum order for bulk matcha?

It varies enormously by supplier and grade, which is why it is worth asking before you compare prices. A low price attached to a large minimum can be worse for a small café than a slightly higher one you can reorder in small quantities.

How do I compare bulk matcha suppliers?

Convert every delivered price into cost per drink — one kilogram is about 333 lattes at 3g — then taste 20g samples of the shortlist side by side in the drink you actually serve.

Should I buy the biggest bag for the best price?

Only if you will use it within a couple of months. Matcha fades with air, light, heat, and time, so a discount on a quantity you cannot get through costs more than it saves.

Do bulk matcha suppliers publish prices?

Most do not — they ask you to request a quote. We publish every size on the wholesale page, because price is usually the reason people are looking.

Where to buy matcha in bulk: what to ask before you order

To buy matcha in bulk, ask eight things before ordering: price per kilogram delivered, minimum order quantity, lead time, grade and origin, whether a sample is available, how it is packed, how long since it was milled, and what happens if a lot is not up to standard. A supplier who will not answer those in one reply is not ready to be your supplier.

Why bulk matcha is hard to compare

Retail matcha is easy to price: a tin has a number on it. Bulk is not, because suppliers quote in different formats, bundle freight and duty differently, and often hide pricing behind a quote request that takes a week to come back.

The result is that most cafés end up buying from whoever answered first rather than from whoever was cheapest or best. The way out is to standardise your own questions and compare the answers, not the marketing.

The eight questions

Price per kilogram, delivered. Not the price of the bag — the price landed at your door, including freight and any duty. A low headline price with expensive shipping is not a low price.

Minimum order quantity. This decides whether the price is available to you at all. A great price at a 25kg minimum is irrelevant if you use 3kg a month.

Lead time. How long from order to delivery, and whether it changes at harvest. A supplier who cannot reorder quickly forces you to hold more stock, which costs money and lets matcha fade on your shelf.

Grade and origin. Not the marketing word — the actual grade and where the leaf came from. "Ceremonial" is not a regulated term. "Culinary" and "everyday" are not either. Ask what it is and what it is built for.

Sample. Will they send 20g so you can make your own drink and taste it. If not, walk. This is the only test that reflects what your customers get.

Packing. Bag size, whether it is resealable, and whether it is nitrogen-flushed or vacuum-packed. A 5kg bag you open weekly for four months will be noticeably worse by the end than the same matcha in smaller bags.

Time since milling. Matcha starts degrading from the moment it is ground. Nobody will give you a milling date to the day, but a supplier who has no idea at all is not close to the source.

What happens if a lot is off. Colour drifts between harvests and lots. Ask what they do about it before you need the answer.

What a straight answer looks like

Our own answers, so you have something to compare against: prices for every size are published rather than quoted, so you can work out cost per drink before contacting anyone. Every product has a 20g sample. Minimum order quantity and lead time are confirmed per product when we reply, because both depend on the grade and quantity. We buy directly from Japanese producers and we are a Japanese company, so origin questions get a real answer.

Then compare on cost per drink

One kilogram makes about 333 lattes at 3g. Convert every delivered price into a per-drink number and compare those. That figure is what shows up in your margins every day, and it is the only comparison that survives the different formats suppliers quote in.

At our prices that is about $0.36 a drink for Nara Matcha K53, $0.84 for G120, and $1.14 for Uji Premium. Run the same arithmetic on whatever you buy now.

One thing not to optimise

Do not buy a year of stock to reach a price break. Matcha fades — an opened bag is best used within about four to eight weeks, and even sealed it does not improve with age. Buy about two months of usage, reorder, and keep what you serve fresh. Cheap matcha you throw away is more expensive than the right amount of good matcha.