Why is Organically Cultivated Tea from Kyoto so Rare?

Why Organic Foods Aren't Popular in Japan

In Japan, organic farming accounts for only about 0.7% (approximately 30,000 hectares) of total cultivated land. While large markets for organic foods have formed around the world—led by developed countries such as the United States and Germany—the reality is that the market in Japan is still quite small.

In other words, it can be said that Japanese consumers, to be honest, do not have as much interest in organic foods compared to other developed nations. The fact is that many people in Japan place greater importance on the perfect taste and flawless appearance of a product, without worrying too much about whether it is organic or not.

Additionally, there is a strong sense of trust in agricultural workers in Japan. Even if farmers use agricultural chemicals, consumers believe that they properly follow usage instructions and dosages to minimize any impact on the human body and the environment. Thus, many consumers believe that food safety is guaranteed even if a product is not organic.

Organic Tea Makes Up About 5% of the Total

While organic produce accounts for 0.39% of vegetables and around 0.1% of rice, wheat, and fruits, tea stands at 5% (as of 2022). In fact, among Japanese crops, tea has an exceptionally high proportion of organic cultivation. This is the result of tea farmers making dedicated efforts to expand organic farming with an eye toward overseas markets, where tea is an important export crop.

However, even at around 5%, it is by no means a high number, and when looking at regional breakdowns, the variation is enormous. In the Kyushu region, which is a major tea-producing area including Miyazaki and Kagoshima, the organic proportion exceeds 10%, whereas in Kyoto, the current reality is that it remains low at under 4%.

Why Farmers Are Reluctant to Do Organic Cultivation

The biggest challenge in organic farming is that it requires immense labor and time. In Japan, rural areas are experiencing declining birthrates and aging populations, leading to severe labor shortages. The effort required for weeding in particular is massive, serving as a major source of concern for farmers.

On the other hand, in Kagoshima—where organic tea cultivation is flourishing—tea is grown on a large scale on flat land. Cultivation using large machinery is standard, which significantly reduces the manual labor involved in organic farming. By attaching specialized equipment to large machinery, weeding between rows can be automated. There are also mechanical methods that use water to physically dislodge pests.

Because tea cultivation in Kyoto takes place on small-scale farms situated in mountainous areas, practicing organic farming requires an extreme amount of time and manual labor. Furthermore, because Kyoto tea places great importance on umami, large amounts of fertilizer are applied, making it particularly difficult to manage fields without synthetic pesticides.

The High Barrier of Organic Certification

At d:matcha, we have been working on pesticide-free cultivation from an early stage. However, it was only in 2025 that we officially obtained organic certification. Obtaining organic certification requires high application fees, and at the same time, the internal administrative burden creates a major hurdle for small-scale farmers.

However, believing that having certification would make our hard work clearer and easier to understand for our customers, we decided to get certified. Once we actually went through the process, we found that the increase in internal management costs to strengthen traceability was even larger than expected. In particular, because d:matcha handles everything in-house—from cultivation, processing, and packaging to sales—management is required at every single stage. Now, we feel glad that we obtained the certification as it strengthened our management system, but building that framework during the first year was tough.

At d:matcha, we believe it is essential to communicate the value of the cultivation and traceability management behind this kind of organic farming, and to have our customers appreciate that effort. We will continue to actively share information so that our customers can truly value what we do.