Matcha - Oguramidori

Single cultivar matcha, made from first flush tea leaves in Wazuka, a historic tea region outside Kyoto. The tea leaves have been cultivated without the use of pesticides, or chemical fertilizers. The tea trees are allowed to grow naturally and develop into robust specimens. Once harvested, the leaves are freshly stone milled to capture the colour, fragrance and taste. The result is a premium quality, single origin matcha with an earthy flavour. Enjoy it as a morning wake-me-up drink, or with sweets in the afternoon.

The tea cultivar used is oguramidori - an indigenous tea tree of Kyoto region, first registered in 1954. It is also often used for making premium gyokuro. According to the tea makers, they are not aware of any other single cultivar oguramidori matcha, making it very unique.

It is ideal for making usucha - light matcha - in a small tea ceremony, and also pairs very well with milk and soy milk, for a home-made, unsweetened matcha latte.

Size of pack: 40g (double sealed in foil sachets)

Matcha is finely powdered green tea, which is mixed into water, as opposed to sencha, which is steeped and served without the leaves. Matcha requires careful cultivation and preparation techniques, including shade growing, hand picking, de-stemming and de-veining of the leaf, as well as fine grinding.

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How to prepare matcha:

1. Scoop a small amount (the capacity of a bamboo scoop - 2g to 4g depending on personal preference) of matcha powder into a tea bowl or wide cup. Ensure it is wide enough to whisk the tea. To remove any clumps of powder, use a sieve to sift it.
2. Pour 150ml of boiling water into a separate container to cool it down to 80°C.
3. Once cooled, mix the water with the matcha and whisk vigorously, ideally using a chasen (bamboo whisk) using a zig-zag (W-shape) motion for up to 60 seconds, or until a fine froth has formed and the tea is bright green.
4. Drink the matcha straight from the tea bowl or large cup.
5. Matcha is wonderful when paired with something sweet - select your favourite small sweet snack as an accompaniment. 

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Jack Farm Tea is the tea farm of Jack (Pathomthat Thongchim) and Natsuki Goto - a formidable team of two who grow, harvest, make and market their own range of teas and rice. They are part of a new generation of passionate tea farmers who are very necessary to continue tea production in rural areas with aging populations. Wazuka town is a famous tea town situated close to Ujitawara and about 20km from Nara. It has a tea history of over 800 years. The Jack Farm focus is on using organic production methods to make their main ranges of sencha, houjicha, genmaicha and Japanese black tea. 

You can view the photos of the WAZA visit to Jack Tea Farm HERE.