Matcha produced in Lishui, Zhejiang province. [Photo/Lishui Daily]

In the tea gardens of Liandu district, Lishui, Zhejiang province, shade nets cover tea trees for 20 days before harvest, boosting chlorophyll and reducing bitterness. Mechanical harvesters enable a single worker to collect 300 to 500 kilograms daily.

Liandu is home to 61,000 mu (4,066.67 hectares) of tea gardens, but the market is saturated. Lishui Deyue Tea Development shifted to matcha last year, converting 653 mu into standardized bases.

Tea trees are now pruned flat for mechanical picking, while chemical pesticides have been replaced by ecological EU-standard planting. Summer and autumn leaves, once wasted, are now used. Revenue is expected to exceed 20 million yuan ($2.92 million) this year, up from 15 million.

Zhejiang Wanmo Agricultural Development runs five automated lines. Fresh leaves undergo over 10 processes before becoming rough matcha, then 20 hours of milling that turns them into 1,200-mesh powder.

Daily processing of the company exceeds 40 metric tons in peak season. It now has 4,000 mu of bases and exports to Europe and Southeast Asia.

Zhejiang Mingye Plant Technology operates six high-speed ball mills, completing grinding in just 40 minutes with low-temperature techniques. Annual matcha capacity reaches 1,500 tons, with nearly half exported to Southeast Asia, the Middle East, North America and Europe. It also partners with leading tea brands.

A Western restaurant in Lishui sells matcha ice cream and other foods made from matcha. Daily ice cream sales hit six kilograms in peak season, with holiday matcha drink sales exceeding 150 cups.