The Inquiry4 Marras 2025

Is trouble brewing for the worldwide tea industry?

Matcha, a long-time popular drink in Japan, has gone global. Major chains now serve it, and coffee start-ups are competing to offer their own photogenic takes on the vivid green drink.

But the growing craze exposes bigger problems for the wider tea industry.

Tea is a delicate crop, highly sensitive to changing weather conditions. Around the world, farmers are reporting falling yields, altered growing seasons and a higher risk of disease due to climate change. Labour shortages and economic issues are also affecting supply chains, creating uncertainty for producers and consumers.

From drone technology helping to monitor remote fields to the extraordinary claim that tea could one day grow on the moon, scientists and growers are exploring bold new solutions.

Contributors Katharine Burnett, Founding Director at the Global Tea Institute for the Study of Tea Culture and Science and Professor of Chinese Art History at the University of California, Davis, based in the United States Cristina Larrea, Director of Agriculture, Food and Sustainability Initiatives at the International Institute for Sustainable Development, based in Canada Harki Sidhu, Consulting Program Coordinator for India at the Rainforest Alliance, based in India Liberal Seburikoko, deputy CEO at Ethical Tea Partnership, based in Rwanda

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Matt Toulson Researcher: Maeve Schaffer Sound engineer: Craig Boardman Production management assistant: Liam Morrey Editor: Tom Bigwood

(Photo: Lady drinking tea. Credit: Redhead pictures/Getty Images)

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