FAQ

Matcha is a type of green tea that is particularly popular in Japan. It is a powdered tea made by steaming and drying tea leaves, removing the stems and veins, and then grinding them finely on a millstone. This process gives matcha a unique flavor, color, and nutritional value that distinguishes it from other green teas. Matcha is characterized by its bright green color and creamy foam. To drink, matcha powder is placed in a tea bowl, hot water is added, and whisked with a chasen (tea whisk). Matcha made this way is rich in nutrients, especially antioxidants, since the entire tea leaf is consumed.
Matcha also plays a central role in the Japanese tea ceremony and is used in ceremonies that emphasize spirituality and seasonality. The taste and mannerisms of matcha are said to have a calming effect on the mind and promote spiritual focus and relaxation. It is also widely used in cooking and sweets, and a wide variety of matcha flavored products are enjoyed, including matcha ice cream, cakes, and of course, matcha lattes.

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Matcha tea leaves are shaded three to four weeks prior to harvest. This shading from sunlight causes the tea leaves to produce more chlorophyll, giving them a dark green color and increasing their amino acid content. This enhances the taste and color characteristics of matcha. This shaded cultivation is a labor-intensive and costly process. The production of matcha is very labor intensive. After the harvested tea leaves are steamed and dried, the stems and veins are carefully removed to form what is called “tencha” (碾茶). A millstone is used to grind this tencha into a very fine powder, producing only 20-40 grams of matcha per hour. This time and labor is a major factor that drives up the price of matcha. In addition, matcha production requires the selection of particularly high quality tea leaves. High-quality matcha requires high-quality tea leaves, which greatly affect the flavor of the final product. Growing quality tea leaves requires the right climate, soil, and proper farming practices, which are even more costly to manage.

Our matcha is a blend that can be enjoyed by people from other countries. It can also be enjoyed as an ingredient in tea ceremonies and food products. In addition, the tea leaves used for matcha are usually plucked by machine, but our matcha is hand-picked, which is a rare and valuable type of tea in Japan. Hand-picked leaves are often plucked with a single heart and two leaves (the uppermost bud and two leaves), and the quality is superior to that of machine-picked leaves because there are fewer hard lower leaves and stems, and the leaves do not break off as often as in machine-picked teas.

Our tea comes from the mountains of Kyoto and the surrounding area. This region is known for producing some of the highest quality teas in Japan, thanks to its misty climate, rich soil, and near perfect balance of sunshine and precipitation.
We select and blend the harvests from different farmers in this region. It has an elegant aroma, a subtle sweetness, a refreshing bitterness, and a well-balanced taste that is the best of both worlds.

The degree of bitterness varies depending on the matcha production method and the quality of the tea leaves used. High-quality matcha has a well-balanced bitter, sweet, and umami taste, while low-quality matcha may have a pronounced bitter taste.

It could be that the matcha is not whisked properly, but more often than not, the cause is that the amount of matcha is not sufficient for the amount of hot water.

This is because the matcha was not sieved before preparation. When matcha is sieved (by scraping a certain amount through a fine sieve), this does not happen.

Water temperature is very important. If the water is too hot, it will change the flavor of the matcha. The optimal temperature is 167-185°F in winter and 158-176°F in summer.

About 1 teaspoon (3 spoons of authentic matcha).

Tea farmers prepare for harvest 20 to 30 days in advance by covering tea plants for matcha production with shade cloth that blocks most of the sunlight. In response to the shade, the plants produce larger, thinner leaves that contain more chlorophyll (which darkens the color) and amino acids (which enrich the aroma and flavor) and fewer bitter tannins.

Farmers harvest tea when the plant has three to five new leaves. Care must be taken not to pick leaves that are too large or too small. Picking too late (even a few days) will reduce quality, while picking too early will reduce yield. It is only a few days from sprouting until the leaves are too large to harvest.

Due to the short harvest period, most tea leaves are trimmed by machine. Traditional hand-picked teas are grown in small quantities and are considered extremely valuable. The taste and aroma of hand-picked leaves is considered superior to that of machine-trimmed leaves.

Fresh tea leaves are processed immediately. They are washed, steamed, cooled, dried, cut, sorted, and then stored before being ground to produce matcha.

Immediately after harvest, tea leaves are steamed for 30 to 40 seconds to destroy enzymes that inhibit tea fermentation. This is an important process that determines the quality of the finished tea. From there, the steamed leaves are rapidly cooled by strong winds that blow them about 6 feet into the air. The rapid cooling stabilizes the bright color and aroma.

During drying, the leaves are distributed in uniform layers on a conveyor belt to avoid overlapping. They are then placed in a 3- to 4-level structure in the fire pit and heated from below with a carefully controlled burner to maintain a temperature of 230 to 356°F (110 to 180 °C). The leaves pass through all levels of the fire pit and dry in approximately 20 minutes.

After drying, the leaves are cut, sorted, and thoroughly mixed to ensure uniform quality and flavor. The processed tea, called tencha, is stored in a temperature- and humidity-controlled room until needed.

When it comes to the grinding stage, the leaves of the handmade tea leaves are ground using two round stones with grooves. This was originally a time-consuming process that had to be done manually. Today, the grinding stones are mechanically driven. A funnel drops the cut leaves through holes in the upper stone into the space between the two stones. The grinding produces a very fine powder, and it takes about one hour to produce 1.41 ounces (40 g) of matcha.

Sencha is ordinary green tea made by steeping whole leaves, most of which are not shaded before harvest. Matcha is made by finely grinding the leaves in the shade.

Tea is very delicate and should be stored away from oxygen, strong aroma, high temperature, high humidity, heat and ultraviolet rays.
After opening the package, we recommend that you store the tea in a tightly sealed container at room temperature in a cool, dark place out of direct sunlight, and drink it within about three weeks. Please refrain from storing the tea in the refrigerator after opening the package, as the aroma of other ingredients may easily transfer to the tea and spoil its flavor and aroma.
For long-term storage, please freeze the tea in its unopened state and bring it to room temperature before opening.

Yes, we ship worldwide every day. However, we do not ship to Japan.