MATCHA WAZUKA | ceremonial grade

notes honeydew | white rice | silken

This year’s MATCHA WAZUKA is a designer bead-milled matcha from Uejima-san, our newest producing partner in the region. Uejima has been producing tencha since the late 80’s—an early adopter of modern tencha making in Uji. Like most farms in the region, the vast majority of his crop goes to Japanese wholesalers, who then blend and finish his material to be marketed as “Uji” matcha. This is standard process for Uji farmers, and something that makes it difficult to track down tea makers willing to produce matcha to our specs and from a single plot of land that, when whisked, showcases the character of the land and the mastery of its producers. Uejima-san, in MATCHA WAZUKA, has this year brought us just this rarity.

Our specific blend of samidori/yabukita material comes from a small field he inherited from a neighbor, but had remained half-wild and unused until we met him and expressed our interest in that particular leaf. Because we pay a higher price for this specific tencha directly, this “extra” field, mostly unsuitable for sale to wholesalers, is newly economically viable for Uejima to manage properly. This matcha is born of ultra-healthy, deep rooted and mountain-grown samidori material, blended with a precise measure of his gold-standard yabukita crop for balance.

Expect exceptionally low bitterness, medium-high sweetness, big umami, and a rich green hue to the powder that makes for a highly attractive and deeply aromatic tea once whisked.

Sold in 80 gram tins.

vintage — harvested may '24 | milled june '24
style — shaded 21 days, processed to tencha, milled to 10-12 microns
cultivar —samidori/yabukita
region —Wazuka, Kyoto, Japan
locale —Uejima tea farm
producer — [see above]


STEEPING PARAMETERS

(use freshly boiled spring water)

usucha – thin tea
2 grams | 3.4 oz (100 ml) | 170ºF (77ºC) | whisk to froth

koicha – thick tea
4 grams | 1.7 oz (50 ml) | 170ºF (77ºC) | knead to paste

iced latte (12 oz)
2.5 grams | 1.7 oz (50 ml) | 170ºF (77ºC)
whisk to espresso consistency, pour over ice (100 g) with milk (200 ml)

hot latte (12 oz)
2.5 grams | 1.7 oz (50 ml) | 170ºF (77ºC)
whisk to espresso consistency, top with steamed milk (300 ml)