Japanese matcha for California.

Who we supply in California

Almost every kind of matcha buyer exists at scale in California: third-wave coffee bars in Los Angeles and the Bay Area, dense boba corridors in the San Gabriel Valley, the South Bay, Orange County, and San Diego, matcha-only counters, and Japanese restaurants with real matcha programs. Customers here already know what good matcha tastes like, and your competitors already source well.

It is also the one state where you can buy matcha wholesale from a local importer. Several California companies hold stock in Southern California or the Bay Area, and some now limit new wholesale accounts because demand has outrun supply. So the real question for a California buyer is less where to find a supplier than which kind of supply fits your shop: local stock you can have tomorrow, or a lot milled to order in Japan that you taste before you commit.

• Specialty coffee bars that treat matcha as a second espresso program, not a powder in a jar.
• Boba and dessert chains moving real volume, where cost per drink and color stability decide the account.
• Matcha-focused cafes serving usucha straight, hot or iced, where the grade is the product.
• Japanese restaurants with tea service or matcha desserts on the menu.

Shipping to California

For a California cafe, boba shop, or restaurant, there is nothing to import. Sample kits go out by USPS after we reply, usually within 24 hours. Wholesale orders are milled to order in Japan and shipped to your address anywhere in California with customs handled on our side, so the first time you touch the product is when the box arrives at your door. Lead time is 7 to 14 days from payment.

• Samples: up to two grades, two sealed 10 g sachets each, sent by USPS to any California food or beverage business.
• Wholesale orders: from 5 kg, grades mixed as you like in 1 kg or 500 g bags, delivered to your address in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento, Fresno, or anywhere else in the state.
• Several locations: orders arrive in 1 kg or 500 g bags, so one delivery divides easily between shops.
• Prices: published per kilogram by grade and delivered with duties included — see the pricing guide.
• Container scale: distributors importing on their own account use Los Angeles/Long Beach or Oakland by sea, and LAX or SFO for air cargo.

Licensing in California

Beyond the federal import requirements, the California Department of Public Health Food and Drug Branch handles processed food registration and food facility licensing, while county environmental health departments permit restaurants and retail food service. Confirm your category before your first order; this is a summary, not legal advice.

• Serving matcha drinks falls under your county environmental health permit.
• Storing, repacking, or selling bagged matcha under your own name moves you into CDPH registration and labeling rules.

Direct from Japan or a California importer — and the Prop 65 file

A California importer is the right call if you need product tomorrow, want to pick up in person, or order under a kilogram at a time. Buying direct from Japan is the right call if you want to taste the exact lot before ordering, want each bag to state its origin, harvest, cultivar, lot number, and milling date, and plan far enough ahead for 7 to 14 days. Because orders are milled after you pay, the powder has not been sitting in a US warehouse, and with a published price per kilogram and a 5 kg minimum you are not waiting for a new-account slot. One workable setup is both: a local importer as backup, a direct lot for the signature drink. The sample kit lets you put the two side by side in your own latte before you decide.

Proposition 65 is the California-specific issue. Lead is on the Prop 65 list, tea plants take up trace metals from soil, and matcha is the whole leaf consumed rather than steeped and discarded — a handful of matcha brands have already faced Prop 65 claims. Whoever you buy from, ask for a heavy-metal certificate of analysis on the actual lot, not a generic one, and keep it on file. A lot-level COA covering heavy metals, pesticides, and microbiology is available on request for California-bound orders. Whether your product needs a warning depends on serving size and how it is sold, so take your own legal advice.

Your first order, step by step

Start with up to two grades of your choice. Free sample kits are available for US businesses. Test them in your own recipes before choosing your first wholesale order.

• Tell us what you serve. Share your menu, milk, cup size, and expected volume.
• Taste with your team. Compare the samples in the drinks your customers order.
• Get a delivery quote. Confirm grade, quantity, and shipping to Los Angeles. Wholesale orders ship from Japan.