Tokusei Matcha
A Kyoto classic with modern finesse, 2025 Matcha Kuwari S is our Ujitawara daily-driver for drinkers who want clarity and calm in the cup. Drawn from a single river valley on the Zenjoji side of Ujitawara and shaded for weeks before harvest, the tencha is refined in small batches and slow stone-milled to preserve color and aroma. The result is a vivid green powder that whisks into a satin, low-bitterness bowl with a clean, lingering finish — sweet without creaminess, structured without bite. We source directly from a small family workshop established in the 1860s, led by master taster Takashi Nishide (全国茶審査技術六段) and Certified Japanese tea instructor Atsuko Nishide; they buy aracha from local growers, finish it in-house for consistent flavor and leaf shape, and mill to order. Because the Kuwari line is tied to one micro-area rather than a broad Uji blend, the flavor stays consistent from year to year, even as weather shifts. If you’re after a Kyoto matcha that tastes composed and quietly confident, 2025 Matcha Kuwari S is the one to reach for.
Ujitawara
Ujitawara sits southeast of Kyoto city, a cradle of Japanese tea culture where river valleys, frequent mists, and low rolling hills shape leaf character. The Zenjoji district — a small enclave along the Tawara River — anchors this lot; tea has grown here for centuries, and the Kuwari name itself echoes an older place-name tied to the temple precinct. Elevations around 160–250 m keep spring shoots tender and amino-acid rich, which reads as savory sweetness rather than grassy sharpness in the cup. That micro-climate matters because slower, gentler growth tempers catechins (bitterness) and preserves the soft green aromatics that make Kyoto matcha feel poised. In practice, Kuwari S drinks green and precise, with a quiet grain-sweet core and very little astringency — unusually forgiving at everyday strengths.
Cultivars
Kuwari S blends two Kyoto-friendly tea bush varieties to tune structure and color. Okumidori is a late-budding cultivar valued for deep hue, mellow sweetness, and low astringency — qualities that translate into plush body when stone-milled. Samidori, an Uji selection favored for shaded teas, brings balance and composure with very little bite. Together they read as Kyoto style in stereo: Okumidori lays down glow-green color and body; Samidori adds lift and a focused, savory sweetness. Blending in this way isn’t about hiding edges; it’s about making a daily bowl that feels vivid yet unhurried. For drinkers curious about cultivar character, Kuwari S is a useful benchmark — you can sense the roundness of Okumidori in the mid-palate and the clean line of Samidori through the finish.
Family craft
We partner directly with Takashi Nishide — a nationally ranked sixth-dan tea taster (全国茶審査技術六段) — and his wife, Atsuko Nishide, a Certified Japanese tea instructor. Their family-run factory dates to the 1860s. He buys aracha (unrefined leaf) directly from farmers in Ujitawara and surrounding Kyoto districts, then undertakes the crucial “shiage” finishing to calibrate flavor, shape, and aroma; she leads education and quality culture in the workshop. First-flush leaves are canopy-shaded for roughly forty days to boost the amino acids that taste like savory sweetness, then refined and milled slowly on granite so friction heat doesn’t flatten aroma. Tencha is kept cool prior to grinding to protect color. That chain of custody explains Kuwari S’s reliability: single-valley sourcing, meticulous finishing, and stone-milling that preserves the leaf’s natural sweetness.
Brewing
For a clear Kyoto-style bowl, use 2 g powder to 60 ml water at 80 °C. Sift, whisk about 60 s to a fine, even foam; if you top up, whisk ~10 s to re-suspend. This straightforward ratio keeps dosing predictable — adjust strength by pouring a little less or more water, not by changing the math. Cooler water mutes aroma; much hotter water can accent astringency.
Small-lot
Volume is modest by design. Because sourcing is limited to Zenjoji-side gardens and milling is performed on granite stones at a measured pace, output stays small compared with broader Uji blends. Demand for Kyoto matcha continues to outpace the capacity of shaded tencha fields and traditional mills, which is why Kuwari S appears in compact batches rather than year-round runs. The upside is traceable origin and reliably calm flavor; the trade-off is that this matcha can sell through between harvests. If dependable, quietly elegant Ujitawara matcha is your daily goal, Kuwari S delivers it without shortcuts.
Important. Due to our producer’s heavy workload and the ongoing matcha supply crunch, we were unable to secure tins for this lot. This matcha comes in a factory-sealed 30 g bag; we do not repackage — oxidation harms freshness and quality. We place the sealed bag inside our zip pouch, and it ships to you exactly that way.