Description

Uji Shohokuen 3-Star Matcha

Made by Shohokuen in Uji, this Matcha is ideal for every day drinking. When the tea plants starts to produce buds in spring the bushes are shaded by a roof with mats that keep out 80% of the sunlight. Once the leaves have been picked by hand (only once per year, in the Spring), they  are steamed and dried, and then the stems and veins are removed. This tea – the raw material for Matcha – is called Tencha.  The Tencha is then slowly stone-ground into Matcha powder. When we visited the Shohokuen factory there were 100 stone grinders working around the clock. When you consider that it takes an hour to produce just 30g of Matcha, this is not surprising!

To prepare “thin” Matcha (Usucha) in a Matcha Bowl (Chawan): 

• Put 1.5 – 2g (2 matcha scoops) into your matcha bowl. If necessary, sieve the matcha into the bowl to remove lumps.
• Add ca. 80 ml of water that has been heated to 70 – 80℃.
• Whisk using your matcha brush until small bubbles appear – your Usucha will have the consistency of a strong espresso with a nice foam on top.

To prepare “thick” Matcha (Koicha) in a Matcha Bowl (Chawan): 

• Put 3.5 – 5g (3 heaped matcha scoops) into your matcha bowl. If necessary, sieve the matcha into the bowl to remove lumps.
• Add ca. 20 – 40 ml of water that has been heated to 70 – 80℃.
• Stir the matcha into the water using your matcha brush until it has the consistency of thick, melted chocolate.

Because Matcha in such a highly concentrated form as Koicha takes some getting used to and only real premium qualities reveal their sweet and complex character when prepared this way, we recommend that only the highest-quality teas be prepared as Koicha. Having said that, how you like your tea is down to your individual taste. Although we wouldn’t recommend trying more basic Matcha teas as Koicha, we would recommend preparing the premium quality teas both as Usucha and Koicha to see which style of Matcha you prefer.

DE-ÖKO-006 Non-EU Agriculture

From controlled organic cultivation