Matcha - Saemidori by Kuma Masahiro

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Matcha in kanji means ground tea, but doesn’t specify exactly which tea leaves are used - the large majority of high grade matcha is ground from tencha, though occasionally gyokuro (the king of Japanese teas) may be used. Tencha and gyokuro are grown in relatively the same way; covered from the sun and grown in varying amounts of shade for the last 16-30 days prior to harvest. This covering blocks direct sunlight and interrupts photosynthesis, stressing the plant and changing the flavour of the tea as the amino acids inside the tea leaves are prevented from changing into catechins, resulting in a higher level of amino acids (which give umami flavour and sweetness) in shaded tea compared to unshaded tea. The difference between tencha and gyokuro is after being steamed and dried there is no need for tencha to be rolled as it is usually ground into matcha, whereas gyokuro leaves are rolled into thin needle shapes. It has been speculated that lower grade matcha that is more yellow in colour or particularly bitter could have been ground from later harvest tea, or sencha or bancha tea leaves which are not grown under any shade at all. Matcha can be made from blends of different cultivars or regions, or single cultivar (like coffee). Blends are created by tea masters who taste many teas and select a number of them to blend in order to create their desired final taste.

All photos were taken by us in person during one of our visits to Kuma san and his cousin Nakatani san. Above you can see some photos from the exact same tea field that this tea and Kuma san’s Tencha grow (both are the Saemidori cultivar).

Notes for this particular tea:
This Saemidori is a single cultivar (Saemidori), produced in Jouyoumachi, Yame, in Fukuoka prefecture by Kuma san, a third generation tea farmer and producer. The tencha is grown right next to his gyokuro in the award winning field that won first prize with 200/200 marks at the 71st a chahinpyoukai in 2017. The leaves are shaded with traditional rice straw (honzu saibai), and hand picked in the first and only harvest of the year. The taste profile of this matcha has an element of freshness that we have not tasted in matcha before. It is bright and clean umami, with an extremely satisfying lingering sweetness. An excellent matcha to also prepare as koicha (4g:25-30ml kneaded slowly), to really emphasise the clean umami in a much more intense drinking experience. Expect a much more poweful punch with koicha as it is four times more intense than usucha! Only the highest grade matcha can be made as koicha as any imperfections or negative aspects of the taste will be amplified. We are extremely picky about adding new teas to release and share with our guests!

Japanese green tea is best prepared with soft water, to enjoy the complexity of flavour. The water temperature also has an impact on the resulting flavour of matcha, although with high grade matcha it is not as critical as it is with loose leaf steamed tea. The lower the temperature, the more the amino acids are able to shine through, which are responsible for umami and sweetness. We recommend boiling water fully, and letting it cool to about 85°C, though do experiment! Please drink matcha fairly soon after whisking as it will not improve over time, but we have found that waiting a few minutes for the matcha to cool a bit further can bring out a more savoury taste, or you can also add ice!

How to make matcha as usucha (thin tea):
Matcha: 2g
Water: 55-60ml @ 85°C

Pour hot water into your chawan (matcha bowl), and into a separate cup or bowl pour some freshly boiled water - this is the water we will use to make the matcha. Preheat your chasen (bamboo whisk) in the chawan’s hot water for about 10 seconds. Drain the water in the bowl dry. Sift your matcha into the bowl - this is very important! The water you poured into the separate cup will have cooled - pour about 55-60ml over the sifted matcha and then whisk vigorously to start, slowing down gradually towards the end to remove most of the big bubbles - don’t worry if there are still bubbles, it’s a matter of practice and preference.

This matcha can also be made as koicha (thick tea):
Matcha: 4g
Water: 25-30ml @ 90°C

As above preheat your chawan and koicha chasen, and sift the matcha into the chawan. Pour a small amount of water (~10-15ml) over the matcha and unlike the above vigorous whisking, slowly knead the matcha into a paste. Add small amounts of water and keep kneading until your desired texture has been achieved.

Storage:
Store in a cold environment (6-10°C) and avoid exposure to light, air, heat, moisture and strong smells - these will degrade your tea. Once opened, best consumed within 4 weeks.

About Matcha Freshness:

Kuma san suggests to enjoy this matcha within 6 months from being stone ground. Other quality tea producers suggest 7 months, some suggest 8 months. In our opinion, any use by date longer than 9 months is a sign that the seller doesn’t care much about freshness of matcha - a non oxidised tea with particle sizes of 6-8 microns. As we push towards increasing the transparency from the origin of the tea all the way to the final consumer, we are adding the stone grind date to all matcha purchased from us along with a suggested use by date (unopened). We challenge everyone looking to buy matcha to enquire about the grind date for the matcha you are buying, and we challenge all matcha sellers to provide this date as it is the only date that matters concerning the freshness of the tea before it is opened.

Once opened, high quality matcha’s freshness is best enjoyed within 4 weeks. Again, some tea producers suggest less, and others are more lenient. We want the final consumer of the tea to have the essential information (stone grind date and open date) to be able to keep track of when the matcha was ground and when it was opened, to decide for themselves how strict/lenient to be. To encourage this, there will also be a small space on the matcha pack/can for you to write the date you open the matcha. We want you to see if you notice the flavour change over time, and come to your own conclusions about how important freshness is!

We know that while the tea is safe to consume for much longer than 6-8 months after grinding, it is a target to set that allows the bright vivid flavours to still be enjoyed. The longer the matcha sits unopened the more dull the flavours will become. Fridge storage will help to delay the flavour degradation, and for room temperature storage we would recommend to use within 3-6 months. We don’t have much experience with freezing matcha but if you would like to, it is a good idea to refrigerate for one day before freezing and again after removing from the freezer (and then place in room temperature for a few hours before opening) to slow the temperature changes.