We Started This Journey in 2013. The World Has Caught Up.
When our founders launched Think Matcha from Ann Arbor, Michigan, matcha was still a niche ingredient, something you had to explain to people. Today it’s in every café, on every wellness feed, and in the hands of millions of daily drinkers across North America. A lot has changed. Our standards haven’t.
The Market Has Changed: Here’s Our Position
Premium Matcha in 2026: Rarer and More Valuable Than Ever
We want to be straight with you about what’s happening in the matcha world right now. Japan’s tencha harvest fell significantly in 2025, driving prices up by as much as 220%, the largest single year increase in the recorded history of the industry. At the same time, global demand has never been higher.
What that means practically: genuine premium Japanese matcha costs more than it did two years ago. Any brand selling it at 2022 prices is either cutting corners on quality, sourcing from lower grade material, or not being transparent about what’s in the tin.
Our Story
From Health OurFoodies to Professional Tea Buyers
Think Matcha was born out of a simple belief: that great-tasting food and genuine health benefits shouldn’t be mutually exclusive.
Our founder spent over two decades working around the world, exploring healthy food alternatives, cooking for family and community, and building friendships with respected chefs and culinary professionals, including competitors, winners, and featured chefs from nationally recognized culinary television programs, such as, Food Network’s Chopped winner, and Bravo TV’s Top Chef competitors.
Those experiences shaped how we think about food, quality, and community. And when we discovered matcha, really discovered it, sourced properly from Japan and prepared with care, we knew we had found something worth building a company around.
Over a decade later, Think Matcha remains independently owned, Ann Arbor based, and laser focused on one thing: bringing you the best matcha we can source, honestly described and fairly priced.
Our Sourcing Standards
What We Mean By Professional Sourcing
Not all matcha is created equal, and in a crowded market, the difference between ceremonial grade and culinary grade, between first harvest and late harvest, between authentic Gyokuro-based matcha and bulk powder relabeled for export, is significant.
Peter Sabbagh Think Matcha founder at University of Michigan Law Quad, Ann Arbor, Michigan
We apply a professional tea buyer’s standards to every product we carry. That means evaluating origin, harvest date, processing method, colour, aroma, and flavour before anything reaches our shelves. It also means third-party testing for heavy metals, because tea absorbs minerals from its soil, and not all of those minerals belong in your cup. We test every batch. No exceptions.
Read: Why We Third-Party Test Our Matcha (Our blog)
Sustainability
Our matcha is packaged in recyclable aluminium, chosen deliberately for its low environmental footprint. Our tins and pouches are stored and filled on the same site, reducing transport miles before they reach you. We favour USPS ground delivery over air shipping wherever possible, keeping our carbon footprint as low as we can manage.
When you finish your tin, please recycle it. It’s a small act that completes the full cycle of what we’re trying to do.
“Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food.” — Hippocrates
Think Matcha. Ann Arbor, Michigan. Est. 2013.
Peter Sabbagh founder of Think Matcha at Zingerman’s Next Door, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Profit Is Not Our Only Mission
Our team is actively involved in community service, not just as donors, but as volunteers. We believe showing up in person matters as much as writing a cheque. The nonprofits we work with regularly include:
- Foodgatherers — local food access and community outreach
- Habitat for Humanity — hands on building and community development
- National Reading & Writing Programs — supporting literacy in local schools
- American Cancer Society — breast cancer awareness and support
We are health nuts, foodies, and firm believers that a business can do well and do good at the same time. Our philosophy hasn’t changed since day one: Change The World To Better Suit Your Health.
