How our matcha is made

Most companies on the internet will talk about removing the “middleman”, but reality is much more complex than that. We take a look at the typical matcha supply chain below. You will see that it comprises a complex web of stakeholders who work together to produce the final matcha product. Today, each of the stakeholders may offer finished matcha for export, yet it would be inaccurate to call any of them “middlemen”. Today, the problem lies in curation and quality assurance rather than availability of options.

A patchwork of small tea estates​

The tea plants shown here will be grown under the shade canopy for about 4 weeks before harvest. This process starves the plant of sunlight, and forces its roots to work overtime in drawing nutrients from the ground. The result is a more complex amino acid profile, giving the finished matcha its wonderfully complex flavors.

In the Kyoto region, many tea estates are held by individual landowners and are often only a few hectares in size. The smallest are only about 1 hectare and we have seen instances where a large backyard is used to cultivate very prized tea plants. Most farmers sell the plucked tea leaves, and usually do not own the plant or machinery necessary to process these plucked tea leaves into matcha. Larger tea fields are often owned by larger companies that are big enough to run a vertically integrated operation.

The hard work of harvesting

Some tea plants are harvested by hand, and others machinery. Some hold the view that hand-plucked leaves are superior, but the reality is that both involve hard manual work. These plucked tea leaves will then be transported to a processing plant where it will become tencha.

For many small plot farmers, the harvest season is extremely busy. Agricultural labor is in short supply in Japan, and elderly farmers often call upon their grown children to temporarily come back from the cities to lend a hand. The harvest is then sold to a tea production company. In recent years, tea estates have increased in sophistication. With the help of contract manufacturers, they are increasingly looking to offer the finished matcha product under their own name.

Journey from tea leaf to tencha

The tea leaves undergo a lengthy process of repeated sorting, sifting, steaming, drying and cutting before they become tencha. Tencha is the raw ingredient of matcha, and blenders will then perform taste tests on the different batches of tencha to direct the ratios for each distinct matcha blend. At this stage, oxidation and shelf life is a concern. All reputable matcha processors will mark and seal the tencha up in large wooden boxes for refrigeration. These boxes are left untouched until it is time to produce a batch of matcha.

The tea processing plants are a serious capital investment, and most tea estates are too small to afford one. Regional tea cooperatives usually pool funds together to set up a cooperative processing facility. These are usually smaller facilities which are open for use by any stakeholder – whether tea estate, blender or production company. These days, many operations are automated, and a tencha production line can be overseen by only a few staff.

Finally, we have matcha

Each time we prepare our small batch shipment, we instruct the processing plant to remove the tencha and feed them into the stone granite mills for grinding. The ground matcha powder is then filled into packets and sealed. This process allows the freshness of the matcha to keep for about a year after grinding without compromising its taste and flavor.

A large proportion of a matcha processing plant’s space are taken up by refrigeration units. The costs of constant refrigeration is another reason why matcha tends to be expensive. Using a stone or granite mill is essential because it allows to keep the temperature down during grinding. Higher heat will damage the matcha and result in an inferior taste. One downside is that the stone mills are quite slow, and it usually takes several hours just to grind 100 grams of matcha.

Where our matcha comes from

Currently, we get our produce from estates in Uji, Yame and Kagoshima. Each of them brings something different in terms of taste and flavor thanks to the particular differences in the environment around the tea estate. We are constantly on the lookout for new places to get matcha so we can share them with you. 

Uji, Kyoto Prefecture

Uji is the spiritual home of matcha culture in Japan, and has been for hundreds of years. It was here that the first tea plants were cultivated, and the most prized plants are still found in small plots of land within the city limits.

Many of the tea estates in Uji have been held by the same family over multiple generations. The collective knowledge in tea cultivation have been steadily built upon over years and years of practice, and each family usually maintains their own secret processes to ensure the optimal tea plant is produced for matcha. Because tea cultivation is done on a relatively small scale, most of the producers here focus on quality much more than quantity.

Yame, Fukuoka Prefecture

Yame is a town close to Fukuoka city that is famous in Japan for producing high-end gyokuro tea. Partly driven by the growing popularity of matcha, some of the tea producers in Yame have begun to make matcha as well. Because gyokuro and matcha both use the “shaded growth” method of tea cultivation, many Yame tea estates have the knowledge and techniques for making quality matcha as well. 

Yame matcha is still quite a new product, but it has already garnered recognition from the Japanese tea industry. We expect that this recognition will only grow as the tea producers in Yame continue to innovate and improve.

Chiran, Kagoshima Prefecture

The landscape of Kagoshima is flatter than that in the Kyoto region, and this allows tea farms to be much larger. Instead of handheld harvester, you tend to see large harvesting tractors. 

Kagoshima used to be known for cheap, mass produced tea destined for use as “fillers” and bottled tea drinks. Today, that  cannot be further from the truth.

Growers in places like Chiran take great pride in their produce, and many of them are now able to grow tea plants and make matcha comparable to the best that Uji and Kyoto have to offer.

Kirishima, Kagoshima Prefecture

Unlike Uji and Kyoto, Kagoshima is not as tightly bound by tradition. Tea estates and producers in Kagoshima routinely experiment with bolder flavors to create interesting new matcha experiences for the next generation.
One of our favourites was located in the hilly Kirishima area right outside Kagoshima city. We immediately struck a deal with the tea estate to produce more of the same blend for us, and now we are delighted to offer it to the world.