A Historic Sale in Assam
On July 3, the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre in Assam sold India’s first commercial batch of matcha, a finely ground green tea traditionally associated with Japan. The sale came as Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made her first official visit to India from July 1 to 3, during which a range of bilateral agreements were announced. While those deals spanned artificial intelligence, energy, defence, and critical minerals, the matcha auction was a separate, coincidental development emerging from a collaboration between Indian and Japanese expertise.
The matcha was produced at Chota Tingrai, a tea estate in Assam owned by the Jalan family, who run Jalan Industries – a family-led group incorporated in 1922 that now owns six tea estates in the region. The tea is made from an indigenous Camellia assamica variety, processed using Japanese machinery, and is branded as “Matcha assamica.” The Jalan family emphasized that this is not intended as a replacement for Japanese matcha but as a distinct product rooted in local ingredients.
From Experiment to Commercial Reality
The Jalans first produced an experimental batch of matcha in 2017, but it was only in 2026 that they scaled up to commercial production. The journey involved careful selection of the tea cultivar. They chose a local variety known as Tinali 17, which was identified for its high polyphenol and amino acid content, as well as its rich green colour. In contrast, Yabukita, a widely cultivated tea plant variety in Japan, proved unsuitable for Assam’s hot climate and lacked resilience to local pests.
The production process is meticulous: fresh leaves are steamed, then subjected to six drying sessions in gas-powered dryers, cooled overnight, and finally milled for over 12 hours to achieve the fine powder characteristic of matcha. The technical know-how came with the help of Masanori Yanagawa, a tea industry consultant from Japan, who worked with the Jalan family for more than three years to adapt traditional methods to local conditions.
A New Frontier for India’s Tea Industry
India has long been a major producer of black tea, but this development positions the country among a small group of nations – including China, Taiwan, South Korea, and Vietnam – that can produce matcha locally. The milestone is significant for an industry that has faced mounting challenges: rising production and labour costs, reduced yields, extreme weather, surging imports, and stagnant auction prices.
The Jalan family invested over US$1 million in setting up their green tea and matcha factory, which currently produces about 800kg of green tea daily. So far in 2026, they have produced approximately 250kg of matcha, which sells for around 3,000 to 3,800 rupees per kilogram at the auction house. Their tea gardens overall yield about three million kilograms of tea annually, with green tea accounting for roughly 130,000kg of that total.
Growing Demand and Export Ambitions
The move comes amid a global surge in matcha demand, driven by claimed health benefits, interest in Japanese culture, and the proliferation of cafes incorporating matcha into everything from lattes to doughnuts. In India, matcha has found its way into traditional sweets like ladoo and even savoury items such as dosa.
Looking ahead, the Jalan family hopes to export their matcha to the United States, Europe, and West Asia. Market projections suggest that demand for matcha in India could reach US$167 million by 2030, reflecting the potential for this new product category in both domestic and international markets.
As the tea industry in Assam navigates a difficult period, this first commercial matcha sale represents an innovative adaptation – one that blends local agricultural strengths with Japanese processing expertise to create a product with global appeal.