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 Nuttsu 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 to you our Nuttsu Matcha. This matcha has a nutty flavor and aroma, reminiscent of fresh pine nuts. Hence, the name "Nuttsu" (ナッツ). The tea has a thick and creamy mouthfeel. The taste is astringent-free and umami-rich. It leaves a lingering weight on the mouth. With every sip, enjoy an extra-long finish.
This Matcha is a 100% hand-picked first harvest from the Yabukita and Okumidori 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 stone grinding wheels. Tea masters use minimally processed tea, called Tencha, to produce fresh matcha from it. Three to four weeks before harvest, farmers begin shading 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 manually de-stemmed and de-veined – a process that requires skill, time, and patience.
For this grade of matcha, only the youngest and most tender leaves are used. They get grounded with stone to ensure a low temperature during the processing. It helps to preserve the inner substances intact. As a result, ceremonial matcha has a more delicate taste and a smooth, subtle texture.
This high-grade matcha is best to drink on its own, without mixing it with anything. We recommend preparing this matcha in the traditional ceremonial manner using a chawan and a bamboo tea whisk.
Brewing guidelines:
- Using a small sifter, sift into a matcha bowl (chawan) a few bamboo scoops (chashaku) of matcha. We recommend using about 1 scoop 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.