Matcha production booms in SW China's Guizhou

(ECNS) -- The matcha green tea industry in Tongren City, Southwest China's Guizhou province, has been booming in recent years.

Tongren City is home to the largest integrated workshop for matcha tea refining in Asia, and awarded the title "China's Capital of Matcha" in 2018 by China International Tea Culture Institute. Its matcha products are sold both at home and abroad.

Chen Qiyong is the owner of a tea garden. With two harvest machines, his garden can harvest over 3500 kilograms of fresh tea, Chen said.

Matcha production requires high-quality green tea, with trees required to have reached adulthood and met mechanical harvesting standards.

Chen went to Japan in 2017 to learn advanced skills to manage his tea garden. In addition to developing the matcha base, Chen launched a tencha processing line. Fresh tea leaves turn into tencha after 40 minutes of processing.

Chen's tencha is sold to the Jiangkou Industrial Park of Gui Tea Group, home to the world's largest single matcha refining workshop.

Data shows that global demand for matcha is 12,000 metric tons per year, though supply only reaches about 5,000 metric tons, which means the potential matcha market is huge. As the main tea producer in China, Guizhou Province will fully leverage its advantages to produce matcha products for the overseas market.