Bandung (ANTARA) \u2013 From the expanses of tea gardens in Ciwidey,\nBandung Regency, the shoots picked by farmers usually begin their\njourney to processing factories.<\/p>\n
Some tea leaves from the area, however, are now taking a different\nroute before being turned into higher-value matcha powder.<\/p>\n
This shift is part of the business journey of Rizal Firdaus Rayfasha,\nwho founded IndoMatcha. Drawing on the potential of tea plantations in\nhis home region, he has developed a product known as a traditional\nJapanese drink, but whose raw material can be processed from locally\ngrown tea.<\/p>\n
Rizal has long been familiar with his family\u2019s tea business. It began\noperating around 2011\u20132012, and he became involved in 2014. In 2017, he\nbegan developing matcha, with production capacity of around 5\u201310\nkilogrammes per month.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not develop my local matcha on a larger scale?\u201d Rizal said.<\/p>\n
The opportunity grew as supplies of raw materials from Japan faced\nchallenges. In 2022\u20132023, demand for matcha rose, while supplies became\nharder to obtain and prices continued to climb.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s difficult to get the raw materials from Japan, and the price\nkeeps going up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
That situation created room for local products. Rizal then developed\nprocessing using tea leaves supplied by farmers and vendors around\nCiwidey. From there, tea shoots that had previously been sold as raw\nmaterial for industry were redirected into a product with a different\ncharacter and economic value.<\/p>\n
Exceptional tea shoots<\/strong><\/p>\n IndoMatcha does not own its own plantations. It sources raw materials\nfrom community-owned gardens and suppliers around Ciwidey. As a result,\nproduct quality depends not only on processing, but also on the\ncondition of the plants, harvesting, and how the leaves are handled from\nthe moment they leave the gardens.<\/p>\n One of the methods used is to shade the plants for around 12 days\nbefore harvesting. The tea comes from the assamica and sinensis\nvarieties, which have different characteristics to suit the desired end\nproduct.<\/p>\n Relations with farmers are an important part of the business\u2019s supply\nchain. According to Rizal, large factories generally buy tea shoots for\nRp2,500\u2013Rp3,000 per kilogramme. IndoMatcha pays Rp4,000\u2013Rp10,000 per\nkilogramme. For the special tea category, the price can reach Rp12,000\nper kilogramme.<\/p>\n The price difference points to opportunities to increase the value of\nraw materials at the upstream end of the supply chain. Although it does\nnot yet indicate higher incomes for all the supplying farmers, the\npurchasing model shows that the quality of tea shoots can open up\ndifferent market options and prices.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ciwideys-local-matcha-boosts-the-economy-1793350410",
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