Tezumi Kazan matcha pouch illustrated with a pink-capped volcano beside a silver tin and a dish of matcha powder on a tatami mat.
Kazan - Kagoshima Matcha
Yellow-green Kazan matcha powder mounded in a white dish on a tatami mat, overhead view.
Bright green Kazan matcha powder heaped in a tall cone in a cream bowl, close side view.

Kazan - Kagoshima Matcha

Minoruen
★★★★★ (2)
$36.00
Size
Recommended For:
The highlighted drink is the most concentrated we recommend, and the tea can be used for any use to the left of the arrow as well. This is up to personal preference.
Baking
Latte
Usucha
Koicha
Flavour Profile
Sweetness
Umami
Aroma
Astringency
Bitterness
Description

Soft and mild, this Kagoshima matcha is relaxed and calming, but packs enough of a punch to mix beautifully with milk for a smooth and delicate latte. 

The name Kazan (火山) means 'Volcano', a reference to Sakurajima, the active island volcano in Kagoshima that provides the mineral-rich volcanic ash which is instrumental to the soil and tea plants.

Although tea was first planted in Kagoshima in the 1300s, did not become a well-known or large-scale tea producing region until the late 1800s when it began to grow tea to be blended for export. Even then, the region was not known by name for its quality. It took until 1992 for tea to be sold as 'Kagoshima Tea' to become known and accepted.

Despite being one of the newest commercial tea producing regions in Japan, Kagoshima has quickly grown to become the largest, overtaking Shizuoka in 2025. The region's volcanic soil and large, flat plains make it suitable for large-scale agriculture, enabling farmers to produce larger yields with greater ease.

Illustrated map of Japan highlighting Kagoshima — a Japanese green-tea growing region

Brewing Instructions
Mix 4 g (2 tsp) of sifted matcha with 40 ml (1.4 oz) of 70° C (158° F) waterHeat or steam 180 ml (6 oz) of your preferred milkPour milk into matcha base
Mix 4 g (2 tsp) of sifted matcha with 40 ml (1.4 oz) of 70° C (158° F) waterPour 180 ml (6 oz) of your milk of choice into a ice-filled 10-12oz (300-350 ml) glass. Optionally, add ~5ml of syrup to add texture and sweetness to the milkPour the matcha base over the ice
Heat water to 70º C (158º F)Add 70 ml (2.4 oz) of water to 2 g (2 tea scoops) of sifted matcha Whisk briskly in a back and forth motion for about 20 seconds
Curving rows of closely trimmed tea bushes on a hillside at Minoruen, with cedar forest and a flowering tree along the upper edge

Minoruen Chaho (みのる園茶舗)

Minoruen was founded in 1958 by Yamaguchi-san, a former businessman who quit the corporate world to sell tea to his community along side his wife. Since then, the Yamaguchi family has continued his work for three generations.

Minoruen Chaho — company head evaluating tea at a sunlit table set with trays of green leaf and tasting cups

Minoruen is headed by Yamaguchi Shinichi (山口真一), a second generation tea producer. His son, Yamaguchi Yuma (山口雄真) originally left Kagoshima to work in Tokyo, but after a change of heart in 2016, returned to support and succeed his family's business. Yuma-san continues to promote Kagoshima tea locally, hosting brewing classes and workshops aimed at teaching the next generation how to brew loose-leaf Japanese tea.

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