How Tea-Loving Japan Became A Coffee Country Due To Clever Marketing

Much like India, Japan is also a tea nation. Unlike us, who drink milk-based, sugar-loaded concoctions, Japanese people prefer herbal tea, especially after meals, to aid digestion. In many restaurants, a herbal concoction is served in handle-less ceramic cups to allow guests to settle down and experience the warmth.

The Japanese tea ceremony (chanoyu or chado) is a meditative practice in which the host prepares the concoction precisely, cleans the tools, serves desserts, and later serves matcha tea. The ceremony focuses on purity, harmony, tranquillity, and respect. People in the country often seek a teacher (sensei) who can guide them to become a good host and learn the art of making tea.

Imagine a country with a rich tea culture transforming into a coffee nation. Don't believe us? Let's dive into some data. According to a July 2023 report published by Japan Today, citizens drink more coffee than tea, so much so that Japan is one of the largest coffee markets in the world. In 2021, people consumed 433 million tons of coffee compared to only 100 thousand tons of tea. The credit for this tea-to-coffee switch goes to Nestle, a Switzerland-based food and beverage company.

Beginning of Tea Drinking in Japan

The first mentions of tea are found in Japanese records during the Nara period (646-794). In the 8th century, China introduced green tea to the country. In the early Heian period (794-1185), Buddhist monks went to China to study and brought back tea leaves and seeds to cultivate in Japan, where the beverage was popular in royal courts.

The Japanese tea ceremony (chanoyu or chado) is a meditative practice. Photo: Unsplash

The tea leaves were pressed into hard blocks. They followed the process mentioned in Ch'a Ching, The Classic of Tea, written by Lu Yu during the Tang Dynasty (760-780 AD) in China. Over time, the process of cultivation evolved, and the Japanese invented their own way of brewing tea.

Along with seeds, monks also introduced the Sung style of preparing the beverage, in which the leaves were ground into a powder. Hot water was poured on them to make a concoction. Priests used to drink it to stay awake, and it also had medicinal properties.
The evolution of the beverage and brewing techniques continued as Japan gradually turned into a tea nation. The ingredient might have been introduced by China, but the beverage became an integral part of native culture - and it continues to be so today.

Nestle's Quest to Enter Japan

Before World War II (1939-1945) began, Nestle launched Nescafe in 1938. In the 1960s, Nestle introduced Nescafe in Japan, expecting exponential growth. From running advertisements to offering samples to making coffee accessible, the brand tried everything but still couldn't penetrate the tea-loving nation.

In the 1960s, Nestle introduced Nescafe in Japan, expecting exponential growth. Photo: Unsplash

In the 1970s, Nestle was out of options. It had tried every trick in the realm of branding and marketing, but it could not break the walls of loyalty surrounding tea consumption. They were barely able to make a dent. It wasn't that the Japanese disliked coffee; they simply preferred the healing tea that offered warmth and had been part of their culture for centuries.

Coffee did not strike an emotional chord with tea lovers.

Nestle Played The Long Game

Reportedly, Nestle hired French psychoanalyst Clotaire Rapaille in 1975. Why? His area of expertise was understanding how childhood experiences shape adult behaviour and purchase decisions.

He studied Japanese culture and found that children were exposed to tea during celebrations, family meals, and gatherings. They were served the beverage after school snacks. Where was coffee? Nowhere. He discovered that coffee had no emotional or cultural connection with Japan - an insight missing from Nestle's entire strategy.

Coffee-flavoured candies were launched in Japan for children. Photo: Unsplash

This became a game-changer. The psychoanalyst suggested changing the target audience and introducing coffee-flavoured treats for children. Instead of targeting adults, Nestle approached kids.

They launched many coffee-flavoured candies, including KitKat. Instead of convincing adults to drink coffee, the brand began building future customers by slowly getting children used to the taste. This created childhood nostalgia, which appeals to adults of all age groups.

KitKats inundated supermarkets, and coffee-flavoured desserts, chocolates, sweets, and other treats slowly transformed Japan's culinary landscape. Children were hooked on the sweet, bitter notes.

How Tea-Loving Japan Became a Coffee Nation

A decade later, Nestle relaunched coffee beverages under the Nescafe banner. The result? Children who grew up enjoying coffee-flavoured candies marched into stores to purchase caffeine-loaded beverages.

In 2014, Japan was importing over 500,000 tons of coffee annually. Photo: Unsplash

This shift led to the growth of coffee imports in Japan. In 2014, the country imported over 500,000 tons annually, and this number has only increased since. A ReportLinker study predicted 473,000 metric tons of coffee consumption in Japan by 2028. It stood at 464,000 metric tons in 2023.

Today, coffee is not merely a beverage but a part of everyday culture in Japan. In supermarkets, you find matcha-infused, canned, vanilla-infused, caramel macchiato, cinnamon-flavoured, and hazelnut-flavoured coffees, among others.

Japanese 7-Eleven stores now feature high-quality, self-service coffee machines offering affordable lattes and iced coffees. A tea nation not-so-quietly became a coffee lover, and now connoisseurs have artistic brewing techniques. Their iced coffee is prepared using a cold-brewing technique called flash-chilling or flash-brewing.

Japanese iced coffee is prepared using a cold-brewing technique called flash-chilling or flash-brewing. Photo: Unsplash

Tourists now visit independent local coffee shops (kissaten) that flourished in the mid-20th century, instead of popular chains, just so they can enjoy an authentic cup of Japanese-brewed coffee.

Nestle's one decision changed the brewing landscape of Japan.

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