Shōyō - Uji Matcha

Name: Shōyō - Uji Matcha
Brand: Tezumi Specialty
SKU: US-TEA-M14-30
Price: 48.00 USD
Availability: InStock

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30 grams

Multi-Origin | Multi-Cultivar Blend

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Blended from hand-picked Samidori, Uji-Hikari, and Asahi tencha from Uji and surrounding regions, this matcha is deep and velvety as usucha, while remaining strong and smooth as koicha.

The name Shōyō means 'Treetop Leaves' (梢葉)

Uji city in Kyoto has long been at the centre of Japanese tea and has been famed for its high-quality matcha production for centuries, dating back to the 12th century. The shading method used to produce modern matcha (c. 16th century) along with sencha (1737) and gyokuro itself (1835) were all invented by Uji farmers looking to push the boundaries of tea quality. Though the name Ujicha remains associated with high-grade tea, most tea branded as Ujicha is produced in the neighbouring towns of Ujitawara, Minamiyamashiro, Kizugawa, and primarily Wazuka.

Cultivar: Blend: Samidori, Uji-Hikari, Asahi, others

Region: Wazuka / Uji, Kyoto

Producer: Rishouen

Harvested: May, 2024

Picking: Hand-picked

Brewing Instructions

Tea/Water Ratio

1.5-2g (2 tea scoops)
60ml (2oz) of water

Water Temperature

70º C (158ºF)

Whisking

20 seconds

Meet the Producer

Rishouen (利招園)

Descended from a family of tea farmers, the head of Rishouen, Koji Kagata now focuses on working with high-grade tencha producers in Uji and the greater Kyoto tea producing region to create top-tier matcha blends suitable for use both inside the tearoom and in day-to-day life. As a practitioner of the Japanese tea ceremony himself, Kagata-san has a keen sense for blending exquisite matcha for usucha and koicha

Rishouen (利招園) is a small, family owned tea producer located in Uji, Kyoto. Founded in 1947, they specialise in selecting tencha from the best fields in Kyoto before skillfully fine-tuning blend recipes and flavour profiles to produce high-grade matcha

Cultivar: Blend: Samidori, Uji-Hikari, Asahi, others

While the exact recipe of the blend will change from batch to batch as the skilled tencha blenders adjust the ratios and ingredients to maintain a consistent flavour profile, these are the primary cultivars used in this tea:

Samidori: Not to be confused with the more popular Saemidori, Samidori is a classic Uji cultivar. Though it is one of the oldest cultivars, bred by Uji tea breeder Koyama Masajirou (小山政次郎) in 1939, it is technically unregistered. It was developed to be suitable for shaded teas, with leaves that grow vertically for easy hand-picking. Today, Samidori is commonly grown in Kyoto for use in gyokuro and matcha where the cultivar’s bright green colour and deep umami shine through.

Uji-Hikari: Meaning ‘the light of Uji’, Uji-hikari was selected from Uji zairai in 1954. Despite its age, it is still an unregistered cultivar that is nonetheless popular in Kyoto for use in gyokuro and matcha production. Uji-hikari has a rather distinct character which means it is rarely sold unblended: strong with a powerful attack, deep umami, and a touch of astringency

Asahi: With a name meaning 'morning sun', Asahi is among the most highly revered tencha cultivars in Uji, where it was developed in 1954. The plants require more labour to maintain and produce a low yield, but the result powerful flavour and aroma make this cultivar a popular choice for competition teas