Tongren Matcha Connects the Greater Bay Area Production and Sales Chain: From Tencha Bases to Bay Area Stores

In October, in the mountain ridges more than 900 meters above sea level in Luoxiang Village, Nuxi Town, Jiangkou County, Tongren, Guizhou, tea farmers are busy harvesting autumn tea to reserve raw materials for a new batch of matcha tencha. Tencha is the raw tea used to make matcha and is a type of steamed green tea. Que Conghan, secretary of the Luoxiang Village Party branch, said this year's autumn tea is of good quality, with stable output and matching orders. In 2021, he took the lead in converting all 80 mu of his own tea gardens into standardized matcha bases, after which more and more villagers joined high-standard matcha cultivation. At present, the village has built more than 4,000 mu of high-standard matcha bases and 6 tencha production lines, with an annual tencha output of 166 tons and an output value of 16.6 million yuan. In July 2024, after east-west cooperation funds were put in place, Luoxiang Village upgraded 1,200 mu of tea gardens, built a "Strong Village, Prosperous People Workshop," and purchased equipment for making matcha noodles and matcha mooncakes.^[1]

On the processing side, in recent years Tongren has built 2 of the world's largest single matcha workshops and 9 first-class automated matcha milling production lines. At the matcha production base of Guizhou Tongren Guicha Tea Industry Co., Ltd., 9 automated matcha production lines are running at full capacity, and emerald-green matcha powder is weighed and packaged before being shipped to more than 60 countries and regions around the world. Zhong Jin, director of the General Management Office of Guicha Group, said the company officially put matcha into production in 2018, achieved exports in 2019, produced more than 1,200 tons in 2024, and exceeded 2,500 tons in 2025, with a comprehensive output value of 750 million yuan. Yao Jingxin, member of the Party Leadership Group of the People's Government of Jiangkou County and head of the Jiangkou group of the Tongren work team under the Guangdong-Guizhou cooperation team, said that since east-west cooperation began in 2021, Guangdong-Guizhou cooperation has invested a total of 71.45 million yuan to help build the full industry chain of matcha cultivation, processing, and sales.^[1]

The Greater Bay Area market is an important outlet for this industry chain. Zhang Tianxue, head of Guicha's South China region, travels year-round to exhibitions across Guangdong, and the change he feels is this: in the past, when he attended exhibitions, the other side did not even know where Tongren was; now, as soon as Tongren matcha is mentioned, almost everyone in the industry knows it. Guicha has partnered with several leading tea beverage brands in Guangdong, and some brands indicate the place of origin when using Tongren matcha. Consumption scenarios are also extending toward the end market: during the National Day "Golden Week," the first Shenzhen store of "Moyan Moxu" opened at Coastal City in Shenzhen. Store manager Wu Guoquan said that during the National Day holiday, the store sold about 150 beverages per day, with average daily sales exceeding 6,000 yuan. Yao Jingxin said that in 2026, 5.2 million yuan in east-west cooperation funds will be invested to add one matcha craft beer production line, with products sent to restaurants, bars, and markets in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Dongguan.^[1]

The other end of production-sales coordination lies within Tongren itself. The Fanjing Matcha image store received more than 2 million yuan from Guangdong-Guizhou cooperation in 2024 to complete renovation and upgrading. Store manager Liu Ling said sales exceeded 3 million yuan in just over a year after opening, and 3 percent of revenue is distributed as dividends each year, directly benefiting 765 monitored households and registered poverty-alleviation households in Taiping Town, Jiangkou County. The "Fanzhi Qingshan Tea & Coffee" shop at the Qizimei matcha base in Xinlongpo, Taiping Town, opened in March this year. Store manager Mei Wen said that in nearly six months since opening, its highest weekend single-day sales exceeded 300 matcha beverages. Yao Jingxin said that in 2026 there are plans to invest about another 30 million yuan to build several new production lines for matcha, food, and beverages, linking and driving farmers through industrial assistance and consumption assistance, transforming "blood transfusion" into sustainable "blood production."^[1]