Japanese matcha wholesale for US cafes, boba shops, and retailers

What US wholesale buyers get from us

We supply cafes, coffee shops, boba and tea shops, restaurants, bakeries, and retailers in all 50 states and DC. If you already know your menu, start with matcha for cafes or matcha for bubble tea.

• Five grades, one supplier. Organic Cafe and Ceremonial Barista for latte service, Organic Ceremonial Barista for organic menus, and Super and Premium Ceremonial from Uji for usucha and koicha. Details on the lineup page.
• Every lot disclosed. Origin, harvest, cultivar, lot number, and milling date on the spec sheet; certificate of analysis (pesticides, heavy metals, microbiology) by lot on request. Organic lots are certified under JAS in Japan; ask us about the NOP import certificate if you plan a US organic claim.
• Free samples for US businesses. Up to two grades of your choice, two sealed 10 g sachets each, shipped by USPS to any US address. How the sample program works.
• Delivered to your US address, duties included. Wholesale orders are milled to order in Japan and shipped to your door with customs handled on our side. The published price per kilogram includes duties and customs fees, so you don't pay anything on arrival.
• Orders from 5 kg. Mix any grades in 1 kg or 500 g bags. Orders are prepaid and ready to ship in 7 to 14 days.
• State-by-state guidance. Delivery, licensing, and local demand for all 50 states and DC on our by-state pages.

How a wholesale order works for a US business

Four steps, from first taste to delivery.

• Request free samples. Fill in the sample form with your business name, US address, and the two grades you want to taste. We reply within 24 hours and ship the kit by USPS.
• Taste in your own recipes. Each grade comes as two sealed 10 g sachets, enough for 8 to 10 drinks, with a spec card showing origin, harvest, cultivar, lot number, and milling date.
• Order from 5 kg. Choose your grades at the published price per kilogram and mix them in 1 kg or 500 g bags. Orders are prepaid.
• Receive it at your door. Your order is milled in Japan after you place it, is ready to ship in 7 to 14 days, and arrives at your US address with duties and customs fees included.

Do US buyers have to import the matcha themselves?

At cafe scale, no. There are three ways matcha from Japan reaches a US business, and they suit different volumes.

• Ordering from us, from 5 kg: we ship to your address with customs handled on our side. You get a recent milling date, the paperwork for your lot, and a delivered price you can set directly against other quotes.
• Buying from a US distributor's stock: the matcha is already in a US warehouse, which helps when you need a top-up this week. The distributor's margin is in the unit price, so ask for the milling date and how long the lot has been in stock.
• Importing on your own account: for distributors and brands bringing in pallet or container volumes under their own name. You become the importer, with the responsibilities described below.

If you import on your own account: what a US importer is responsible for

This section is for distributors and brands importing pallet or container volumes under their own name. It is a plain-language summary, not legal advice — confirm your own obligations with a customs broker or regulatory advisor. But these are the pieces that come up on every food import from Japan.

• Foreign facility registration. The facility that manufactures, processes, or packs the food has to be registered with the FDA, and its registration number is used in the entry filing.
• Prior Notice. The FDA must be notified of each incoming food shipment before it arrives, with the timing depending on the mode of transport. This is filed for every shipment, not once per supplier.
• FSVP. Under the Foreign Supplier Verification Program, the US importer — not the Japanese supplier — is required to verify that its foreign suppliers produce food meeting US safety standards. For tea, the hazards you'd typically be documenting include pesticide residues, heavy metals, and contamination.
• Entry identification. FSVP importers need a unique facility identifier to provide when filing entry with CBP.
• Organic paperwork, if applicable. Organic shipments need an electronic NOP Import Certificate issued before export — see our organic matcha guide.
• Labelling. Your retail packaging has to meet US food labeling rules, which are not the same as Japanese ones.

What a good supplier does to make this easier

None of the above is the supplier's legal responsibility, but a supplier used to US-bound shipments makes it far less painful.

• Provides the facility registration details needed for the entry filing without being chased.
• Supplies documentation that supports your FSVP file rather than leaving you to build it from nothing.
• Gets shipping documents right the first time, since errors at entry cost days.
• Flags certification or paperwork constraints before you place the order, not after the container is booked.

When you evaluate suppliers, ask how many US-bound shipments they've handled and what documentation they routinely provide. The answer separates exporters from domestic sellers who also take export orders.

Where we sit

Japan Matcha Prime is a Japan-based supplier, operated by ACTIE Inc. We don't hold wholesale stock in a US warehouse. Each order is milled in Japan after you place it and shipped to your address, which is why the milling date on your bag is recent and why reorders take 7 to 14 days to mill and ship.

If you are a distributor or brand planning to import larger volumes on your own account, email us your grade, monthly volume, and destination, and we'll quote that separately.

Practical planning notes

• Reorder before you run out. Orders are milled after you place them and are ready to ship in 7 to 14 days, so reorder while you still have a few weeks of stock.
• Compare delivered prices. Many wholesale quotes from Japan are priced before freight, duty, and customs fees. Ask what is added on top before you compare two per-kg numbers.
• Order what you will use in a few months. Smaller, more frequent orders arrive fresher than one large order that sits on a shelf.
• Storage on arrival. Matcha degrades with heat, light, and air. Keep bags sealed and cool, and decide where they will live before the box arrives.
• Freight mode, if you import at pallet scale. Air freight is fast and expensive; ocean freight is economical at volume but adds weeks. For own-account importers this is often the largest single variable in landed cost.