Hatsu-Mukashi Tencha
Arita SansuienBlended from machine and hand-picked leaves, this bright and smooth usucha-grade tencha has a velvety umami, soft aroma, and subtle complexities. The final blend is rounded out by gentle drying and heating over binchotan charcoal, a traditional practice now almost extinct in Japan. This is the exact same tencha that is ground to produce our Hatsu-Mukashi matcha.
The name Hatsu-Mukashi means "First Pickings" (初昔), an centuries-old tea name originally used for tencha picked in the two weeks preceding the 88th night of Spring.
Tencha can be enjoyed in numerous ways: brewed hot, cold brewed, ground into matcha, or sprinkled on top of food. Brewing this tea hot, like one might brew a kabusecha or a gyokuro, brings out similar flavours to its matcha form, but with a completely different texture. Grinding matcha at home is difficult as no home tea grinders can compare with full-scale stone mills, but decent results can be obtained with a Porlex Tea Mill.
Producer: Arita Sansuien
Region: Uji, Kyoto (Joyo, Yawata, Wazuka, Yamashiro)
Cultivar: Blend: Samidori (hand-picked and machine picked), Okumidori, Saemidori, Uji-Hikari
Harvested: April-May, 2026
Picking: Machine-picked, except where specified
Shaded: 21-44 Days
Uji city in Kyoto prefecture 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. 15th 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.
Brewing Instructions
Traditional
Hot Tea
Use 5 g (0.18 oz) of tea leaves for every 100 ml (3.38 oz) of water
Heat your water to 65º C (149º F) or cool boiling water by pouring it into a yuzamashi, into the cups, then into the teapot
Let it steep for 1 minute and 30 seconds before pouring slowly until the last drop. Enjoy!
Cold Brew
Sweet and Smooth
Add 8-10 g (0.35 oz) of tea to a vessel
Pour in 500 ml (16.9 oz) of cold water
Wait 1 hr in the fridge
Arita Sansuien (有田三翠園)
Founded by Arita Heiichi (有田平一) in 1949, Arita Sansuien's focus is sourcing, blending, and finishing high-quality tencha, working both directly with farmers and also buying top-tier tencha at auction, with a focus on hand-picked, honzu-shaded teas. Their unique specialty is their preservation of the traditional tencha finishing method of gently heating the leaves in a single layer on washi paper heated by binchotan charcoal. Once standard throughout Kyoto, this technique has all but vanished.
Today, Arita Sansuien is headed by Arita Ippei (有田一平) who continues to refine and perfect their blends and drying techniques to bring out the best from Kyoto's best tencha farmers. Their upper grades of matcha contain tencha from Kikuoka Yuuichi (菊岡祐一) and his family, who have won first place at the National Tea Competition, and consistently place high every year.