A matcha subscription from Japan: five things to check first

A matcha subscription shipped from Japan to the United States has a few things to check that a domestic one does not: who pays the import duty, how long the tea has been in transit and on the shelf, and how easy it is to stop. The tea matters most, of course, but these are the things that decide whether the box is a pleasure or a nuisance in month three.

The short answer: before you subscribe, check five things. Whether US import duty is included or collected at your door; when the matcha was milled or packed, and how fresh it will be on arrival; how much tea you get and how many bowls that makes; what else is in the box; and exactly how to pause or cancel. A good subscription answers all five on the page before you pay.

I run Tomari (shoptomari.com), a small tea ceremony shop in Tokyo, and I study tea in the Urasenke school. Here is what I would look for.

1. Import duty: included, or at your door?

Since the US ended the $800 duty-free allowance for small parcels in August 2025, and the temporary postal arrangement after it ended in February 2026, parcels into the United States are dutiable at any value. Matcha itself carries no US duty, but tea tools, sweets and other items in a box can. A subscription should say plainly whether duty is paid before the parcel leaves Japan or collected from you on delivery. "Duties may apply" is not an answer.

2. Freshness

Matcha is a very fine powder, and it fades with light, heat and air. One Uji maker gives its sealed tins a best-before of about eight months; once a tin is opened, the tea is at its best in the first few weeks. So look for:

• A milling or packing date, or at least a stated best-before date.
• A tin size you will finish within a few weeks of opening.
• A sealed, light-proof tin rather than a clear bag.

How to keep it once it arrives is in how to store matcha.

3. How much tea, in bowls

Grams are hard to picture. A bowl of thin tea takes about 2 g, so a 30 g tin makes about fifteen bowls, and a 20 g tin about ten. Work out how often you actually drink matcha before choosing a size; a smaller, fresher tin each month is often better than a large one that goes stale.

4. What else is in the box

Some boxes are tea only. Others add a sweet, a tool or a note. If a box includes tools, check what they are made of and where; a bamboo whisk is the piece that decides whether the tea foams, and it wears out with use. If it includes food from Japan, check how long it keeps, because a parcel can take one to two weeks by airmail.

What belongs in a box that follows the tea year, and why you may not want a new whisk every time: a Japanese tea ceremony subscription box: what should be inside.

5. Pausing and cancelling

Read the cancellation terms before you pay, not after. In California, for example, the law on automatic renewals requires a seller to show, clearly and near the button you press to subscribe, that the subscription continues until you cancel, the cancellation policy, the recurring charge, the length of the term and any minimum number of orders, and to send you those terms afterwards in a form you can keep. Whatever state you live in, those are the things to look for. If you cannot find them on the page, ask before you subscribe.

Not sure whether you want matcha or a leaf tea to steep? Start with which Japanese tea a subscription should send.

Questions I get asked

What should I look for in a matcha subscription from Japan?

Whether US duty is included, how fresh the tea is on arrival, how many bowls each delivery makes, what else is in the box, and how to pause or cancel.

Will I pay import duty on matcha from Japan?

Matcha itself carries no US duty, but other items in a box can, and every parcel into the US is now dutiable at any value. Check whether the seller pays it before shipping.

How long does matcha stay fresh?

One Uji maker gives about eight months for a sealed tin. Once opened, it is at its best within the first few weeks.

How many bowls are in 30 g of matcha?

About fifteen bowls of thin tea, at 2 g a bowl.

Where this fits

Whatever matcha you choose, the tools decide how it turns out: a 100-prong bamboo whisk made in Takayama, Nara, a bowl wide enough to whisk in and a bamboo scoop. How duty works on a parcel from Tomari is on shipping and duties.

Written by Mio.K, who chooses everything in this shop by hand in Japan.