How Ceremonial Matcha Is Made in Japan | 170-Year Uji Tea Farm in Kyoto

Walk through Mr. Yamamoto's tea field and see the traditional Honzu shade method in action, where reed screens and straw block the sun for about 400 years. This method keeps the umami amino acid, theanine, from turning bitter. You'll see the straw being spread evenly over the tea plants, a delicate process that requires careful attention to wind conditions. It's a nervous time for the farmer, as the entire year's work culminates in this crucial shading period.

At Chazuna, you can experience grinding tencha into matcha using a traditional stone mill. You'll place the tencha leaves into the mill and watch as ultra-fine matcha powder slowly emerges from below. It's a popular activity, and visitors from places like Toronto found it wonderful and learned a lot about tea, even calling it a 'good workout.'

Join the team in Mr. Yamamoto's field in May to hand-pick the new tea leaves. You'll learn to snap off the soft, shining new buds, including the fine buds from the bottom of the bush, a technique called 'ori-tsumi.' It's a meticulous process, done on sunny days to ensure the leaves are dry for steaming. I even got to try picking myself, and the leaves were much softer than I imagined.

Step inside the tea processing factory to see how freshly picked leaves are transformed into tencha. You'll observe the steaming process, which stops fermentation and keeps the leaves green, and the subsequent cooling with air to prevent over-steaming and separate the leaves. The highlight is seeing the 100-year-old tencha drying furnace, built in 1925, which Mr. Yamamoto believes is essential for creating the unique taste of his tea. You can even taste the dried tencha directly from the furnace, which I found surprisingly not bitter and very good.

After the tencha is finished, you can witness the meticulous process of tasting and evaluating it. Mr. Yamamoto steeps the tencha for 3 minutes in 60°C water, carefully checking for umami and overall quality. Even when it tastes good, he believes it can always be better, reflecting his dedication. Finally, experience the whisking of the stone-milled matcha, which is incredibly smooth and surprisingly sweet, unlike any matcha I had imagined. It's a taste that truly embodies 1,200 years of Japanese tea culture.