Sourcing matcha tea powder from China

Matcha duty depends on immediate packing size

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 30 September 2026, heading 0902 covers tea, whether or not flavoured. For pure matcha supplied as ground, unfermented tea, immediate packings not exceeding 3 kg carry 2% duty under 0902 10 00 00; other green tea carries 0% under 0902 20 00 00. The supplied tariff record lists no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension.

The tariff attaches organic import control and a restriction on entry into free circulation. Confirm with your customs broker whether Chinese tea consignments require pre-notification, border control post checks and a finalised common health entry document before release, and which inspection certificate requirements apply to organic tea. The exporter’s control body issues the organic certificate. Confirm the applicable documents with your customs broker before dispatch.

Confirm the ingredients and immediate packing size before choosing the commodity code. Tea extracts are classified elsewhere; a sweetened latte mixture should not be assumed to share the pure tea code. See the wider tea guide for other tea types.

Specify the powder and its intended use

State whether the matcha is for whisked drinks, café recipes or baking. Specify pure ground tea or declare every added ingredient, the growing origin, harvest identification, shading and milling process, colour, aroma, bitterness, particle fineness and moisture. Keep an approved sample and agree how production samples will be compared with it.

Specify sealed barrier packaging, the immediate pack weight, batch identification and storage instructions. Ask for batch-specific pesticide residue and contaminant reports against GB limits. Test the powder in your actual drink or recipe rather than accepting a grade name as a specification.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 5,000 kg of pure matcha powder in 100 g retail tins under 0902 10 00 00, invoiced at £50,000 free on board, with £2,000 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £52,000. Duty at 2% is £1,040. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £53,040, so it is £10,608. Import taxes total £11,648; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £1,040 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step. This assumes the goods are standard-rated for VAT. Most food for human consumption is zero-rated, and animal feed can be too, in which case no import VAT is due, so check the rate for your product in HMRC's VAT Notice 701/14.

Inspection checklist

Identity: check the ingredient declaration, origin records and batch identification against the order and approved sample.

Powder: compare colour, aroma, bitterness, fineness and clumping; whisk a sample and test it in the intended recipe.

Safety: check that residue and contaminant reports identify the shipped batch and assess results against GB limits.

Packaging: check seals, moisture damage, net quantity, best before date, storage conditions, origin and UK food business address.

What goes wrong

A shipment can differ from the sample in colour, bitterness or texture. Coarse powder feels gritty, moisture causes clumping, and damaged seals allow odours into the pack. Ask the supplier to investigate a mismatch before accepting the lot.

Pesticide residue failures can hold up border release. Organic paperwork does not replace food safety checks. Match test reports and shipping documents to the actual batch, and arrange border paperwork before dispatch.

Cambridge China Bridge sources these products for UK businesses, checking the factory and the documents before shipment. See factory verification. For repeat volumes, see container programmes.