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"Nattsu" Ceremonial Grade Matcha (Japan)

$97.00

One day after lunch, a student approached the wise master Lao Cha:

 - Sensei, I admire your moderation. You never overeat, and today you skipped dessert again. I wish I was more like you. I can never give up on the good taste of food!   
 - Dear boy, I'll share a secret with you: this Nattsu Matcha is my indulgence. Its thick and creamy mouthfeel, and taste full of umami are a feast for the senses, incomparable to any food or drink.  


We present you our Nattsu Matcha. This matcha is nutty in flavor and scent, resembling fresh pine nuts. Hence the name – "Nattsu" (ナッツ) is "nutty" in Japanese. The tea has a thick and creamy mouthfeel. The taste is astringent-free and umami-rich. It leaves a lingering weight on the mouth. Enjoy an extra-long finish with every sip.

Our Nattsu Matcha is a 100% hand-picked first harvest from the Yabukita and Oku Midori cultivars from Yame, Fukuoka. It is stone-milled to preserve as much as possible its precious content as well as exquisite taste and aroma. 

The best plantations in Fukuoka prefecture are in the Yame area. Morning mists and river fogs are very frequent. Curtains of fog wrap green tea plantations, properly blocking sunlight. It makes the tea leaves more tender and sweeter. In addition, Yame enjoys a vast temperature difference from day to night.

Matcha is a green tea powder obtained by grinding the tea leaves with grounding wheel stones. Tea masters use minimally-processed tea, called Tencha, to produce fresh matcha from it. 3 to 4 weeks before harvest, farmers start to shade the tea bushes from direct sunlight. Shading tea helps the leaves to stack up on L-theanine, which gives the resulting tea a natural sweetness. The leaves also become rich in chlorophyll, antioxidants, and umami. After harvest, every leaf is carefully de-stemmed and de-veined, requiring skill, time, and patience. For ceremonial grade matcha, only manual de-stemming is acceptable. 

There are two commonly known grades of matcha tea: 

• The culinary grade matcha has a more intense flavor. It helps it withstand high temperatures during cooking. It also makes it stand out when mixed with other tastes, like those of dairy, sugar, etc. Otherwise, its sweet, grassy flavor will fade away.

• The ceremonial uses the youngest and most tender leaves. Farmers ground them with stone to ensure low temperature during the processing. That helps to preserve the inner substances intact. This grade of matcha has a more delicate taste and smooth, subtle texture. 

 

We recommend you prepare this matcha in the traditional ceremonial manner using a chawan and a bamboo tea whisk.


Katakuchi Chawan Matcha Bowl


Brewing guidelines:

  • Using a small sifter, sift into a matcha bowl (chawan) a few bamboo scoops (chashaku) of matcha. We recommend using about 1 scoops per 30ml.
  • Start slowly adding water of about 175-185ºF / 80-85ºC 
  • Using a chasen (the whisk), whisk vigorously in a zigzag (but not circular) motion. Do not scratch the bottom of the chawan. Keep whisking until all the powder is dissolved and the tea is frothy. To achieve a better result, keep turning the chawan counterclockwise while whisking.

Watch a video about Matcha

Watch a short video on How to Make Matcha

Customer Reviews

Based on 5 reviews
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B
Barry Malkin
Nattsu isn't Nuts

It's a very nice tasting matcha with a little peanutty flavor to go along with the full-bodied, but not bitter, taste.

S
Sharon
Pleasantly sweet and nutty

I have never had a matcha like this before. The flavor on this was distinctly nutty but also has some natural sweetness about it. Highly recommend this one.

E
Ed Vatza
Love the Matcha; Hate the Packaging

Let me begin by saying that I have already spoken with Misha about the packaging issues I have. We'll get to that. First the matcha. If I had to describe it in one word it wouldn't be nutty, it would be mellow... with w slight hint of nuttiness. But that's just my opinion. I have used the Nattsu for my morning matcha ritual the past two mornings and have found the matcha to make a very enjoyable bowl. Like I said, mellow, no bitterness, no astringency... really enjoyable.

Now for the packaging. I have no problems with foil lined bags for any tea EXCEPT for matcha. I think there is a reason most purveyors of matcha sell it in small cans. I find the fine powder that is matcha to be very messy in bags whether scooping it out with a chashaku to put into a bowl or trying to move it from the relatively speaking large bag to a natsume. And I find there is more waste as the powder tends to adhere to the insides of the bag and in the crease at the bottom. Again I find the bags great for all my other teas but very inconvenient for matcha.

So in summary, great matcha but the packaging needs to be improved. Just my opinion which I have already shared with Misha.

Thank you for the review, Ed!
Here is what we previously discussed with you in private, explaining why we chose to package matcha in foil-lined bags rather than tin cans.

Packing matcha in a tin can would immediately increase the price due to the weight, space it occupies, and other factors affecting the shipping costs. Given the cost of production of high-quality matcha, we want to keep the retail price as affordable as possible. Otherwise, it would get quite expensive.

But we get you! We are considering adding a tin can as an option so that one can choose a foil-lined paper bag or a tin can for a little extra.

Once again, thank you so much for your feedback!

Update: Hi Ed. We listened to your feedback and added the tin can option for 100g of Matcha! Check it out:)

R
Riley
: o

The fantasticly sweet, umami-packed deliciousness of ceremonial grade matcha with the welcome added zest of mellow nuttiness. The best matcha I've had, worth a try for sure.

N
Nanami
Fantastic flavor!

This is not your everyday matcha, that's for sure. It definitely has a nutty flavor that similar to cashew in my opinion. I often have my matcha quite heavy, meaning I put more than the standard chashaku amount. This is a matcha I don't really recommend doing that with. Instead, definitely go the standard serving or a little less. This is the most intense, umami flavored matcha I've ever had!
If you are a seasoned Matcha drinker and a big fan of the grassy, umami flavors; this one's for you!