The Pinnacle of Uji Matcha from a Single Tea Garden and Single Cultivar

A tea garden run by a sixth-generation tea farmer in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture, the home of fine tea. Tencha, nurtured through the honzu cultivation method passed down for over 400 years, boasts a mellow, rich umami and sweetness. A practice in Uji since around the 16th century, it involves blocking sunlight with reed blinds and straw, cultivating carefully over a year. Plucked by hand, leaf by leaf and branch by branch, this "one-of-a-kind" tea can be tasted at the 170-year-old shop designated as a National Important Cultural Property. The tea lecture and tencha/matcha tasting tour (from ¥5,500) by the sixth-generation owner are not to be missed.