Shaded from the light, the leaf quietly gathers its umami.
A stone mill grinds barely 40 grams in an hour.
To drink matcha is to drink time.
Matcha is the only tea where you drink the leaf itself.
What is Matcha
Matcha is not a tea you infuse — it is a tea you drink whole. Where sencha or black tea gives you only what dissolves into the water, matcha is the leaf itself, ground to powder and taken in its entirety. That is why its fragrance, its umami, and its colour are denser than any other tea.
But not every green powder is matcha. What makes matcha matcha is the shading before harvest and the slowness of the stone mill. The essence of it lies in these two steps.
Grown in Shade
For around three weeks before harvest, the field is covered to block the sunlight. Deprived of light, the leaf holds theanine — the compound behind umami — inside itself rather than converting it into the catechins that carry astringency. At the same time it takes on a fragrance that only arises under shade, known in Japanese as ooika.
Leaves grown this way are steamed and dried without rolling to become tencha — a tea made for one purpose only: to become matcha.
The Slowness of Stone
Tencha becomes matcha only once it has been through the stone mill. An hour of grinding yields around 40 grams — less than a single tin. Grind faster by machine and the heat drives the fragrance off. This slowness is not inefficiency; it is the choice that protects the aroma. Freshly ground matcha measures a few microns across, which is why it feels smooth on the tongue and why the foam rises so fine.
SHINSUI & SENRO
MIOKA offers two matchas, both from organically grown leaves in Wazuka, Kyoto, certified under Organic JAS. What separates them is the cultivar — which is to say, the design of the fragrance.
| SHINSUI | SENRO | |
|---|---|---|
| Cultivar | Okumidori | Yabukita |
| Aroma | High shaded fragrance, expressive | Gentle and composed |
| Taste | Deep, layered umami | Clean, lingering finish |
| Best hour | A morning bowl, or a special one | An afternoon pause; also good as a latte |
* Both are of a quality suited to usucha — matcha whisked and drunk as it is. For how to whisk a bowl, see How to Whisk Matcha.
For your first bowl
Begin with a starter set — matcha, bowl, whisk, and scoop together.
To see where matcha sits within Japanese tea as a whole, read A Map of Japanese Tea.
Three weeks without light, and an hour at the mill.
All of it is there, in a single bowl.
Fragrance Beyond Time and Borders.
