The craft 職人技
Five steps stand between a tea seed in Uji and the bowl in your hands. None of them can be rushed. This is the process our farmers have refined for generations — and the reason our matcha tastes the way it does.
Shading 覆下
For 40 days before harvest, our tea plants grow beneath hand-woven rice straw shades. This slows their growth, draws out chlorophyll and antioxidants, and softens any bitterness.
Most producers shade for only 20 days — and under plastic. Our longer, traditional method creates leaves with deeper umami and a subtle, seaweed-like aroma.
40 days under rice straw — double the industry normHand-picking 手摘み
Each spring, the first tender leaves are hand-picked during a short harvest window. These young leaves hold the highest nutrients and the smoothest flavor.
By picking only early in the season, we ensure the highest-quality leaves — and the finest ceremonial matcha.
First flush only — one short harvest per yearSteaming 蒸し
Immediately after harvest, the leaves are steamed to lock in their bright green color, preserve nutrients and stop oxidation. Without this step, they would ferment into black tea.
Steaming ensures freshness and a clean, umami taste.
Same-day steaming — oxidation stopped within hoursDrying 乾燥
After steaming, the leaves are cooled on mesh racks to remove surface moisture, then gently dried over a furnace — adding a subtle roasted aroma.
The stems and veins are removed, leaving pure leaf flakes called tencha — the foundation of true matcha.
Tencha — pure leaf flake, stems removedStone-milling 石臼
Tencha is ground slowly in traditional granite stone mills, turning counter-clockwise. Each mill takes a full hour to produce just 40 grams of matcha.
This slow process protects the powder from heat — preserving the nutrients, flavor, color, and silky texture of true ceremonial grade.
40 g / hour per granite mill — slowness is the pointThe difference between 20 days and 40 is something you taste in the first sip. Request a graded sample kit and judge for yourself.
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