Which premium matcha brands are fully in stock?
Two brands stand out for consistent full-catalog availability as of June 2026. Ippodo Tea: 8/8 blends in stock. Ippodo maintains direct Uji producer relationships developed over their 300+ year history, with allocation agreements that prioritize their retail catalog. Despite publicly stating that "all of our matcha varieties are currently limited and sell out quickly," their blends reliably restock — the window just narrows. Price range: $0.55/g (Wakaki) to $5.20/g (Kanza). Available at ippodotea.com and Ujicha Matcha (US importer). Marukyu Koyamaen: 7/7 blends in stock. DTC fulfillment direct from Japan keeps their catalog available even as US distributors face supply gaps. Several blends also available via Sazen Tea and Ujicha Matcha as alternative buy points. Price range: $0.71/g (Isuzu) to $2.28/g (Eiju). These two brands account for 15 in-stock blends across the $0.55–$5.20/g range and represent the most reliable ceremonial-grade supply in 2026.
Which brands have significant stock gaps?
Partial availability (significant OOS by blend): Kettl — 18/26 blends in stock (~69%). Kettl sources across multiple Japanese farms and regions. Their farm-specific and single-cultivar blends are the most constrained — limited annual production meets high demand from US buyers who track single-origin releases. Their Uji-origin tiers are more frequently OOS than Kagoshima-sourced blends. Restocks are announced via newsletter with no fixed schedule. Sazen Tea — approximately 8% OOS rate (low); Austrian importer with strong Japanese sourcing relationships, carries Marukyu Koyamaen and other Uji brands. Kanso Tea — approximately 5% OOS rate (lowest in our dataset). Significant OOS issues: Horii Shichimeien — approximately 90% OOS rate in our tracking database. Traditional Kyoto maker primarily focused on domestic market; US availability is opportunity-based and unreliable. Not a reliable retail source for US buyers.
What does the OOS rate actually look like across the market?
From our tracking database (4,354 availability snapshots, 133 blends as of May 2026): overall in-stock rate (May 2026): 82.7%. Most reliable merchant: Kanso Tea at 5% OOS. Kettl OOS rate: ~31% (8 of 26 blends OOS). Horii Shichimeien OOS rate: ~90%. Marukyu restock cadence: Mon/Wed/Fri — sells out in 24min–8hr. Ippodo restock cadence: variable, limited windows per blend. The 82.7% aggregate in-stock rate is misleading — it includes culinary grades where availability is not constrained. Filtered to premium ceremonial ($1.50+/g), the effective in-stock rate is materially lower.
Where should I buy if my usual source is out of stock?
Fallback hierarchy by reliability: (1) marukyu-koyamaen.co.jp — direct Japan DTC; ships internationally; full 7-blend catalog in stock. (2) ippodotea.com — US-based; full 8-blend catalog; restock windows announced via email. (3) sazen-tea.com — Austrian importer; Marukyu and other Uji brands; EU shipping advantages. (4) kanso.tea — small US importer, low OOS rate, curated Uji-focused catalog. (5) ujichamatcha.com — US importer carrying Ippodo, Marukyu, and others. Brands and tiers to avoid if you need to be certain of quality: any "ceremonial" brand priced below $0.70/g without explicit origin disclosure — almost certainly Kagoshima or Chinese at those price points. Any Amazon-fulfilled ceremonial claim without an identifiable Japanese producer behind it.