Uji Barista (バリスタ) Matcha. 20g
Milk Chocolate. Burnt Butter. Salted Pretzel.
Milk-chocolate stout. Immediate salted pretzel and burnt butter, softening into a broth of mushroom and toasted sesame. Perfect for Matcha latte, smoothie, or any confectionaries you desire. From Shirakawa, Uji, Kyoto, Japan.
Stone-Milled: Fresh ground in Lawrenceville, NJ
About This Matcha
It is uncommon to find a barista-grade Matcha that holds enough character and balance that it can be consumed not just in baked goods and Matcha Lattes, but can be drunk straight as an Usucha Matcha. This Matcha is indeed the exception. In most cases, this Matcha is closer to ceremonial grade than culinary.
The sweet and savory blend is 100% stone milled, creating a cream-like texture that folds harmoniously into mixed drinks and lattes. The vivid green shines brighter than most ceremonial Matcha on the market, which results in not just a delicious beverage, but a visually stunning one as well.
Shaded for 40 days using tana covering (an unprecedented approach for Barista Matcha), this tea is bursting with L-Theanine and complexity. Yet not too much to overpower its use in the culinary application. There’s a pleasantly bitter kick on the tail that is not unlike burnt caramel or pretzel crust dusted with salt.
Blended in Japan by a 5th-generation Chashi tea master, and stone-milled by Ooika in the United States.
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The Uji Barista (バリスタ) Matcha breaks all the rules of what Barista-grade matcha should be and sets the standard for the highest caliber Matcha for use in culinary application.
Our Uji Barista (バリスタ) Matcha is ground in-house, using authentic Japanese stone mills. This is radical, as most Matcha meant for culinary use is made in large-scale industrial ball mills.
Culinary Matcha rarely, if ever, comes from Uji. Instead, it comes from nearby villages such as Wazuka and is labeled “Uji” because the material was packaged there rather than being grown there. This sleight of hand allows for more favorable marketing and is within the legal framework of Japanese tea labeling. The Uji Barista (バリスタ) Matcha Shirakawa comes from and is grown within, Shirakawa, Uji.
Next, we have the shading type. Culinary Matcha is shaded directly, with nets placed on the plants themselves. This practice is known as Jikagise and reduces labor requirements of shading at the cost of smothering the plants and trapping excess heat. This Matcha is shaded with a much superior tana structure. This is not the norm for Barista-grade matcha, or even for most Ceremonial grade matcha.
In regards to shading duration, this Matcha reaches an impressive 40 days. While longer shading doesn’t necessarily always mean higher quality – it generally can be thought of as such. Longer shading generally results in a more savory tea. For most culinary Matcha, shading durations are brief – and in some cases, completely absent. (There is a discussion on whether unshaded Matcha should even be called Matcha.)
We consider our Uji Barista (バリスタ) Matcha a culinary. It’s worth mentioning that terms like “ceremonial” vs “culinary” Matcha are marketing terms that vary from company to company. Most companies use “ceremonial” to describe their higher-end Matcha. Though, there are cases where one company’s most expensive “ceremonial” matcha is lower in quality than another company's “culinary” grade.
That rings true here, where this Matcha easily outclasses many other brands’ ceremonial offerings, yet at an economically friendly price-point for daily use in mixed drinks, recipes, and even as traditional Matcha Usucha.
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To make the best cup of Matcha latte, follow our brewing instructions.
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Long-term Storage: Store unopened Ooika Matcha in the refrigerator. Consume within 6 months.
Room-Temp Short-term Storage: Store opened Ooika Matcha in a cool, dark place away from sunlight. Consume within 3 months.
Refrigerator Short-term Storage: Opened Matcha can be stored in the refrigerator to help maintain freshness, however, the Matcha is at risk of condensation when cooler than ambient air. For this reason, if you choose to store an opened Matcha in the refrigerator, be sure to take the Matcha you need and then immediately place it back in the refrigerator to minimize exposure to the warm air.
Ochairinikki (御茶入日記)
Category Green tea (お茶) |
Subcategory OISHITACHA (おおいしたちゃ) |
Grade Barista |
Terroir Shirakawa, Uji, Kyoto, Japan |
Vintage Blend |
Cultivar Blend |
Harvest Method Sentei Ki |
Shading Style Kaireisha Tana |
Shading Duration 40 days |
Milling Ishi-Usu (石臼) Stone-Milled by Ooika |
Packaging Cold-stored, oxygen-free bag |
Use Latte, Drinks, Culinary |
The Historic Birthplace of Matcha
800 years ago, Japanese monks first brought tea plants to Japan and decided that here would be the most suitable place to grow tea.
Today, Uji has become a household name for authentic Matcha across the world.
Visiting Shirakawa, Uji
For Matcha, no Terroir in the world exceeds Uji. Despite having worldwide recognition, the actual quantity of tea from Uji is impossibly small, and shrinking every year as development continues.
And in fact, the total demand for Uji Matcha far exceeds the supply, by orders of magnitude. Most Matcha labeled as being from “Uji” is, confusingly, not. Thus the vast majority of “Uji” Matcha is not grown in Uji…
Here’s why: any tea that’s not grown in Uji village (such as nearby in Wazuka), but is refined or processed within Uji village may legally be called “Uji” tea.
A subtle distinction is made in Japan by saying “Cha No Uji (茶の宇治)” versus “Ujicha (宇治茶.)” Cha No Uji (茶の宇治) literally translates as “Tea from/of Uji”, versus just “Uji tea.”
Thus, experiencing true Cha No Uji (茶の宇治) Matcha from/of Uji is exceedingly rare.
