MMC 01/25: Kinapku Competition Asahi Matcha 2023 - Tsujiさん Shirakawa Uji
Matcha Mill Club is our monthly Matcha membership, where we stone-mill a new single-origin Matcha and ship it out within 24 hours of milling every month. This article details the Matcha we shipped for January 2025!
Happy New Year
明けましておめでとうございます! Happy New Year! To celebrate, we’re launching the rarest Matcha (perhaps) in the world: a Competition Asahi with Kinpaku (gold flake.) This exuberant Matcha will help usher in the year of the Snake.
Due to the hyper rarity of the Kinpaku Competition Asahi Matcha 2023, we’ve included another Matcha to make up for the remaining volume: the 2024 Okumidori Matcha by Kurazumiさん in Hoshinomura.
About Kinpaku
24K gold foil is known as Kinpaku in Japanese. Both edible and luxurious, Kinpaku can be added to Matcha. This is a rare practice but is typically done by manufacturers to celebrate the new year.
You may enjoy your Kinpaku Matcha simply by placing one sheet of 24K gold foil into your tea bowl with the Matcha and water, and whisk it all together. The gold foil will break into pieces, and actually float above the surface of the Matcha foam.
About Competition Grade
The 24K gold is not what makes this Matcha special. Rather, its extreme rarity comes from its grade: competition. This competition material costs well over $5,000 for just 1 kg (before milling and labor cost!)
Competition material is submitted for festivals and is typically not a commercial product. Despite this, Ooika commissioned this Asahi from the highly regarded Tsujiさん of Shirakawa Uji.
Our intent is both to celebrate the new year with the most luxurious Matcha, perhaps ever milled, but also to provide an opportunity for deep tea knowledge: experiencing what competition Asahi from one of Japan’s most legendary farmers is like. I, myself, was surprised by the lightness and aromatic pine notes of this Matcha.
Share your Experience
As always, your support of Ooika is greatly appreciated. Please share your tasting notes and experiences with this month’s Matcha and tag us on Instagram @ooika.co or YouTube here.
Sincerely,
Ooika
