The climate changes; the leaves change every year. And still we deliver an unchanging taste. That is our quality.
Quality is not born of instruments and specifications alone. It rests on the accumulated eye of a house that has selected, judged, and blended tea since 1818.
In 1903, at the Fifth National Industrial Exhibition, our sencha and domyoji were recognised by the judges and we received a certificate of merit from Kyoto Prefecture — among the earliest public recognitions of our quality.
In 1962, when we created Japan's first green tea bag, we refused to fill it with leaf scraps. Proper tea leaves went into a bag engineered for better water flow — a decision that convenience must never cost taste. In 1971, we were among the first to adopt nitrogen-flush packaging to protect freshness. When quality demands it, we lead the industry. That is our history.
And in 2023, Mugekocha — co-created with Yoshihiro Murata of Kikunoi — was served at the G7 Hiroshima Summit luncheon. Two hundred years of quality, proven at the tables of world leaders.
Above all our standards of quality sits a single question:
“Would our history approve? Does it serve our customers?”
Leaves must come from estates with sound soil and cultivation management, with properly controlled shading periods for covered cultivation. We maintain traceability back to the region and the estate.
Harvest must fall within the right window. For premium teas, only leaves hand-picked (or carefully shear-picked) at the proper time will do.
Thick-fleshed leaves, deep green with lustre. No old leaves or stems mixed in.
A sensory check of the aroma that rises the moment hot water is poured — free of off-notes such as steaminess or smokiness, with the fragrance proper to the cultivar.
Gogumi — blending leaves of different character — is the craft of recreating an unchanging taste amid a changing climate. Leaves of brilliant colour, of high fragrance, of deep umami: combined, they yield a depth and stability no single leaf can give. Every blend is recorded and managed by lot to guarantee reproducibility.
Not every tea is blended, however. When a year and a field stand out, we deliberately leave the leaf single and let its once-in-a-lifetime character speak. The unchanging taste, or the taste of a single year — judging which to make is also the tea master's work.
Before any tea becomes a product, it passes two inspections.
Instrumental analysis confirms quality in numbers as well — backing the senses with data.
Sight, smell, taste, touch. In the end, the tea master's senses are the measure. Meet the master behind the inspections on the dedicated page.
About the tea masterHanding down to the next generation the tacit knowledge built over a long history.
Protecting tradition does not mean standing still. Evolving with the times is the true succession.
No self-satisfied product-making. We welcome the customer's voice as the seed of improvement.
“Good enough” is not allowed here. The unseen parts deserve the most care.
We answer for the smile at the first sip — and freshness management all the way to your hands is part of quality.
Products and conduct worthy of Japan's foremost tea region.
Choosing materials with care for the environment, and trading in ways that sustain tea farmers — carrying tea into the future.
Through a single cup of tea, we deliver a moment of calm.
About the tea masterAbout matcha