Matcha ~ Fine Organic Yabukita 🇯🇵

Nakai Family Matcha // Fine Grade
Japanese Powdered Green Tea
From Harayama, Wazuka, Soraku District, Kyoto Prefecture, Honshu Island, Japan

40g Tin
This tea is organically grown!

During our R&D 2024 trip to Japan we had the privilege of experiencing Nakai Family Matcha in the tea gardens of Harayama overlooking a beautiful vista of Wazuka tea town. This is a quality fine grade first flush Matcha with a very fine bright green appearance giving fresh aromas. Whisks easily, creating an immediate thick layer of foam with a deep hue and savoury umami, bright, sharp taste and wakame seaweed notes.  Suitable for both lattes and using in baking. 

Harvested in May, the first flush, from the Yabukita cultivar, grown using Kabuse direct shading cultivation. The tea has been shaded for 21+ days, prior to harvest then carefully and skilfully processed following traditional techniques by Tea master Nakai and family. Whereby the Tencha is steamed, dried, refined and stored until November where it is finely ground using a granite stone mill to create this ceremonial grade Matcha.

Yabukita is the most prevalent cultivar grown in Japan, approximately 75% of all Japanese tea is made with Yabukita providing the most classic experience & flavour profile.

Nakai was the first tea farm to be organically certified in Japan with tea fields free of pesticides, herbicides and synthetic fertilisers.

Nakai Tea Garden has enjoyed a 350 year history of tea cultivation in Wazuka, since the Genroku Era (late 1660’s). 
In 1986 the 6th generation Tea Master Michio Nakai switched to all natural cultivation for the health of the environment and fellow tea drinkers. This decision was met with alot of backlash at the time but Michio-san and family were committed, despite all the nay-sayers. After organic practices began, by 1993 the tea garden was producing excellent tea. 
In the same year, Michio-san with a group of founders created JONA - the Japanese Organic & Natural Foods Association serving an organic standards agency. This would lead to the Japanese Agricultural Standards or JAS being launched in 2000 by JONA.