International Matcha Congress 2026

Foreword by David:

Manae recently attended the first International Matcha Congress in Tokyo, Japan. What follows is her honest reflection, written while the experience was still fresh. We wanted to share it quickly to give you a glimpse of a historic moment for the industry.

For those less immersed in this world, it’s important to understand that up until the past few years matcha was a relatively niche industry, and today is still only roughly 1/50th the size of coffee. I say this not as a comparison to coffee but as a way to understand the scale at which the unprecedented growth of matcha is now happening around the world. Consequently, this growth has also driven interest in other countries entering the matcha market and striving to learn and implement the same techniques that Japan developed over centuries.

I say this plainly and without judgment. Manae and I have spent countless hours talking about what this means, from our travels around Japan to conversations late into the night. Until now, we’ve largely chosen to show rather than tell, letting our work and the matcha we source speak for themselves.

But I think this is a good moment to say something clearly: from the very beginning, we made a conscious decision to focus on what we personally believe will remain the highest-quality matcha in the world: Japanese matcha. That belief is why we keep going deeper in Japan, learning from the people who make it and doing the work to bring more of it to you.

I’m proud to share Manae’s reflection with you. It’s a candid, personal account of an industry changing in real time, from someone who cares deeply about its future.

The International Matcha Congress 2026, the world’s first international congress dedicated to matcha, was held on 12 November in Tokyo. I had the privilege of attending and witnessing what felt like a historic moment for the matcha industry, surrounded by around 1,200 people from 27 countries around the world.

As I sit here writing this, I have a million thoughts still running through my head. I know it will take time to fully process and make sense of everything I experienced yesterday, but I don't want to lose the thoughts and feelings that are still so fresh. So I wanted to share some of them now. What this congress meant to me and how we at Rebel Bunny hope to contribute to the future of this industry.

The International Matcha Congress (IMC) brings together people from across the matcha industry and beyond, including producers, businesses, researchers, government representatives, and professionals from the coffee and café industries, among others. It was created as a space for discussion and consensus-building around the structural challenges the industry is currently facing, bringing together leading figures from around the world to exchange perspectives and explore the future of matcha.

The congress is organised by the International Matcha Association (IMA) and was established on April 22, 2026, as the world’s first international organisation dedicated to matcha. Its mission is to develop international definitions and standards, and to build a shared foundation for the industry through research, education, and awards.

As many of you already know, the rapid growth in global demand for matcha has created significant challenges for people across the industry over the past few years. Producers in Japan have been facing difficulties in maintaining stable production and supply while dealing with longstanding issues like labour shortages. For businesses like ours, sourcing matcha has become increasingly challenging. And for those of you who have supported us along the way, you’ve likely felt the impact too, with many of our matcha being sold out for extended periods.

Against this backdrop, seeing so many people come together in one place felt quite extraordinary. They came not only from the tea industry, but from many different fields, each bringing their own experiences, interests, and perspectives on matcha. Being surrounded by so many people who, in their own ways, shared an interest in matcha and its future was something we had never experienced before.

Our Roots and the Evolving World of Matcha

Before going further, I would like to clarify where our perspectives come from. I am Japanese, and Rebel Bunny has sourced Japanese matcha exclusively since the very beginning. As many of you know, we have always valued and prioritised sourcing the best matcha we can find in Japan. This year, I also had the opportunity to personally help some of the farmers with both the first and second harvests. So naturally, much of what I think and what we believe as a brand come from our own experiences, the people we have worked with, and everything we have learned along the way.

That said, I genuinely believe that this industry is at a pivotal stage where matcha is beginning to evolve into something much like coffee and wine. Think about how naturally we see coffee beans from Colombia, Brazil, Ethiopia, and so many more in coffee shops, or wines from France, Italy, Portugal, California, and so many other regions in wine bars. Each has its own origin, characteristics, and identity. And I believe matcha is beginning to enter a somewhat similar stage.

Just a few days ago, I came across an Instagram Reel featuring a new matcha spot in NYC. What caught my attention was they were serving both Japanese and Chinese matcha, with clear information about their origins, cultivars, and other details. It was only one example, but to me, it felt like a glimpse of where the matcha industry is heading.

At this point, I also find myself questioning how much we can achieve through competition alone when we look at the industry from a bigger perspective. Matcha is now being produced not only in Japan and China but also in South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, India, and Sri Lanka, as well as African countries such as Kenya. We embrace that this industry needs a space where we can understand its full scale, learn from one another, and work together towards a bigger picture.

Sitting alongside so many people from across the matcha industry and beyond yesterday reminded me that Rebel Bunny is just one small piece of a much bigger puzzle. With a genuine passion for matcha and a deep sense of responsibility towards what we do, we will continue to pour our hearts into what we believe in, while keeping an open mind and finding ways to contribute to the future of an industry that we care so deeply about.

Our Role and Way to Contribute

One of the questions that kept coming back to me throughout the congress was what our role should be in the future of the matcha industry. Being surrounded by people from so many different backgrounds naturally gave us the opportunity to hear different perspectives on where matcha is heading. While I believe we are all working towards a shared goal of building a sustainable and economically viable future for the industry, I also realise that each of us has a different role to play. There is the role of farmers and producers, the role of tea merchants, the role of brands like ours, the role of the cafe industry, and of course the role of consumers themselves, too.

This  became particularly clear to me during Session 2, The Future of Matcha from the Café Industry Perspective — Including Consumer/Preference Trends. And in some ways, I found that realisation quite freeing. What stayed with me was how differently each panellist approached their role. Sungho Hwang, Co-founder and CEO of HIT THE TEA Co., Ltd., spoke about the importance of making matcha approachable for newcomers while offering deeper knowledge and transparency as their interest grows. Issam Freiha, Co-founder and CEO of Blank Street Inc., highlighted the creative freedom matcha offers and how seasonal menu launches can spark curiosity and introduce people to new ways of enjoying it. Meanwhile, Jon Allen, Co-founder of Onyx Coffee Lab, shared his perspective on premium experiences, transparency, and the role matcha can play in creating personal connections and bringing people together. Each had a different approach, yet all were contributing to the growth of matcha in their own way.

Listening to these different perspectives made me realise that at the heart of it, we share similar hope. That matcha will continue to grow beyond a passing trend and become a lifestyle that leads to a long term sustainable growth. But the ways in which we contribute to that future don’t necessarily have to look the same. Each of us has our own role to play, and perhaps what matters most is taking that role seriously and contributing responsibly to the bigger picture.

And naturally, this brought me back to Rebel Bunny. What is OUR role in shaping the future of matcha?

While we’re still figuring out new ways to contribute, there are certain beliefs that have always been clear to us and guided us from the very beginning.

01. Being a Bridge Between Producers and Customers

We want to continue being a bridge between our partner producers and our customers. This responsibility comes in many forms, but it truly starts with making sure that we deeply understand the products we offer and being able to stand behind them with confidence. To us, that is the bare minimum.

It also means being transparent about our products and sharing the information and stories behind them. We hope that by doing so, we can help more people develop their own understanding of matcha, whether they are completely new to it or have been enjoying it for years. And in doing so, we can give the tea itself and the people behind it the appreciation and respect they deserve.

Down the Rabbit Hole and Matchacation will continue to be important spaces for this. At the same time, we remain committed to labeling matcha with the details that help you understand it, rather than a vague grade.

Explore by Tasting Notes is another reflection of this. We continue to discover just how diverse matcha can be through our own sampling and tasting experiences, and we hope to make that exploration more accessible, fun, and exciting for you too.

02. Continuing Our Own Learning

If we want to take responsibility for being that bridge, we need to keep learning ourselves. We strive to deepen our knowledge of tea. For this, we stay close to the producers we work with and learn directly from them through firsthand experiences. We also believe that learning goes beyond the product itself. It means listening to our customers, understanding their experiences, and remaining open to perspectives that may be different from our own. And the truth is, our customers have already played a significant role in shaping who we are today. We believe staying curious is crucial to contributing meaningfully to the industry.

03. Balancing Professionalism with Innovation and Open Mindedness

Okay. Yes, we’re greedy. We want both. But we genuinely believe we can do both, and we are determined to keep working towards it.

We are committed to being the right people to bring Japan’s high-quality matcha to the world, while honouring the producers, the craftsmanship, and the stories behind each product.

At the same time, we want to leave room for creativity and innovation as matcha continues to reach new people and cultures around the world. We certainly don’t believe that matcha should be limited to those who already have extensive knowledge or experience in tea. In fact, we find it fascinating to see matcha being embraced in new ways and becoming part of people’s everyday lives across different cultures. During one of the panels, Katharine P. Burnett, Founding Director of the UC Davis Global Tea Institute and one of the directors of IMA, used the word “kaleidoscope” to describe this diversity. I thought it was such a beautiful and fitting way to put it.

And perhaps that is also how we want to approach the challenges ahead. Not by resisting change, but by finding ways for innovation, accessibility, and a genuine understanding of matcha to grow, while creating space for people from all backgrounds and industries to be part of its future. Chasen by Rebel Bunny was born out of that very desire to bring these elements together.

We are a small but very diverse team, and our tastes and perspectives can sometimes be quite different. But we see that as one of our strengths. It reminds us that there is no single way to enjoy something and encourages us to remain open to different ideas, values, and ways of thinking.

As time goes on, and as Rebel Bunny continues to grow, I am sure we will discover new ideas and responsibilities that we want to take on. Because, in many ways, that is exactly how the past two years have been for us. We tried, sometimes succeeded, sometimes not, we learned, and we grew.

And I think that is how we will continue to find our own way of contributing to this industry.

The Future of Matcha

I still have so many thoughts that I need to revisit, process, and reflect on. And I plan to take my time doing so, eventually sharing more of them one by one through Down the Rabbit Hole or other initiatives of ours.

But if there’s one thing all of us at Rebel Bunny want to share, it’s that while the matcha industry faces serious challenges that will shape its future and require collective action, the congress also reminded us of the incredible potential this industry holds and just how much there is still left to explore.

As I mentioned, I am Japanese, and one of my responsibilities at Rebel Bunny is to stay close to the source and work alongside the incredibly talented producers in Japan. That is something I take great pride in, and something I will always value.

At the same time, this was my very first experience of hearing so many different perspectives from people around the world, including those from completely different industries, all gathered in the same room. And that experience alone gave me so much to think about.

The matcha industry is indeed at a pivotal stage, and we are genuinely excited to be part of what comes next. We know there is still so much to learn and so much work to be done, but we look forward to contributing in our own way, while continuing to take our responsibilities seriously.

As many speakers mentioned during the congress, and as I have always believed, tea really does bring people together.

Proud to be part of this industry. And proud to simply love tea.

A heartfelt thank you to the International Matcha Association for bringing us all together.

– Manae from Rebel Bunny

Sources:

https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/matcha-market

https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/coffee-market