The vivid green powder that has become a global café staple is facing a challenge that can’t be solved with better harvesting alone. Japan’s prized matcha is increasingly vulnerable to warmer nights, and rather than fighting those changes only in the field, scientists are now looking inside the tea plant’s DNA. By identifying genes linked to quality, disease resistance and climate resilience, researchers believe they can breed future tea varieties that preserve the characteristics matcha is known for while helping farmers adapt to a warming climate.
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That work is gaining urgency as demand for Japanese matcha continues to rise worldwide. Tea plants typically take years to mature, making conventional breeding slow and labour-intensive. Researchers say genomic tools could dramatically shorten that process by allowing breeders to identify promising seedlings based on their DNA long before the plants reach maturity. According to a review published in the Japanese Society of Breeding’s Breeding Science , advances in genomic prediction, marker-assisted selection and genomic selection are transforming Japanese tea breeding after decades of relying mainly on traditional methods.
Why climate change is becoming a growing concern for matcha producers
Producing high-quality matcha requires carefully controlled growing conditions. Tea plants destined for matcha are shaded before harvest to encourage the development of chlorophyll and amino acids that give the powder its bright colour, rich umami flavour and smooth taste. Those qualities, however, are sensitive to environmental conditions. Researchers say rising temperatures, unusual spring weather and increasing pressure from pests and diseases are making it more difficult to consistently produce premium leaves.
Scientists caution that climate change affects tea through several pathways rather than a single mechanism. Heat stress can influence plant growth, while shifting rainfall patterns and humidity alter the conditions under which tea develops. Although the precise impact varies between growing regions and cultivars, researchers agree that climate-related pressures are becoming an increasingly important challenge for tea production. According to Japan’s National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO) , climate change, alongside pest damage and labour shortages, has created an urgent need for new tea cultivars that combine high quality with improved resilience and stable yields.
Scientists are using DNA to speed up a process that once took decades
Developing a new cultivar through conventional crossbreeding can take decades because researchers must wait for plants to mature before evaluating flavour, productivity and resistance to disease. Genomics offers a way to make those decisions much earlier.
One of the biggest recent advances came when NARO researchers completed the first chromosome-scale reference genome for a Japanese green tea cultivar, ‘Seimei’, a variety suitable for both sencha and matcha. Having a complete genome allows scientists to identify genes associated with desirable traits such as tea quality, disease resistance and environmental tolerance. Those discoveries can then be converted into DNA markers that help breeders select promising young plants without waiting years for field trials. Rather than replacing traditional breeding, researchers describe genomic tools as complementary technologies. Marker-assisted selection and genomic prediction allow breeders to narrow thousands of seedlings to the most promising candidates, reducing both time and cost while improving the likelihood of developing cultivars suited to future growing conditions.
The goal isn’t to change matcha; it’s to preserve what makes it special
Scientists stress that genomics is not about genetically modifying matcha or altering its traditional character. Instead, the objective is to preserve the qualities consumers already value while giving growers better tools to cope with a changing climate. Traits such as flavour, aroma, colour and yield are influenced by many genes working together, making genomic information particularly valuable for breeding programmes. Researchers acknowledge that DNA alone cannot solve every challenge facing the tea industry. Farm management, weather, soil conditions and cultivation practices will continue to shape harvest quality. Even so, genomic breeding could help producers respond more quickly to environmental pressures than conventional methods allow.
For an industry built on centuries of tradition, that balance may prove essential. Japan’s tea breeders are turning to some of the newest tools in plant science not to reinvent matcha, but to ensure that future generations can continue producing the same vibrant green tea despite a climate that is becoming steadily less predictable. According to researchers writing in Breeding Science , the rapid expansion of genomic resources is expected to accelerate marker-assisted selection and genomic breeding, helping develop tea cultivars better suited to the challenges ahead.
