Ujihikari Matcha - Yamazakiさん Gokasho Uji
TASTING NOTES
Clean. Spring Asparagus. Shiitake.
Both light and uplifting, while retaining depth. Cool spring vegetable notes, raw shiitake, and a wonderful juicy crispness.
🏆 Awarded Producer
3X Recipient of the highly prestigious Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Prize (農林水産大臣賞.)
Stone-Milled: Fresh Ground in Lawrenceville, NJ
TASTING NOTES
Clean. Spring Asparagus. Shiitake.
Both light and uplifting, while retaining depth. Cool spring vegetable notes, raw shiitake, and a wonderful juicy crispness.
🏆 Awarded Producer
3X Recipient of the highly prestigious Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Prize (農林水産大臣賞.)
Stone-Milled: Fresh Ground in Lawrenceville, NJ
TASTING NOTES
Clean. Spring Asparagus. Shiitake.
Both light and uplifting, while retaining depth. Cool spring vegetable notes, raw shiitake, and a wonderful juicy crispness.
🏆 Awarded Producer
3X Recipient of the highly prestigious Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Prize (農林水産大臣賞.)
Stone-Milled: Fresh Ground in Lawrenceville, NJ
About this Matcha
From the same farmer & field as this year’s first place (1-1) winner of the Japanese National Tea Competition Tencha (underground Matcha) division.
This Uji-hikari has the same characteristic brightness one would expect. It’s savory and trufflesque, gently toasted in aroma with clear dew-sweet freshness.
With water, lightens into shamrock tones; multi-layered tones like the mother of pearl. Unmistakable sweet potato note in the aroma with nori Ooi.
Crema has a deeply saturated, emerald appearance. Juicy and rich, mouth-coating and fully encapsulating. Clean and uplifting, raw shiitake with a pulsating aftertaste that coats the throat.
Complex, and mysterious, deep while retaining lightness — hourglass in shape. Blanched, then iced fresh asparagus, and raw persimmon. Cooling in the palette and warming in the stomach. Milk-stout balance.
A refreshing, clean astringency causing ample salivation.
-
To make a fresh and smooth bowl of Usucha or Koicha, follow our whisking instructions.
-
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) |
Cultivar Ujihikari (うじひかり) |
Producer Yamazakiさん |
Terroir Gokasho Oyagijima, Uji, Kyoto, Japan |
Vintage 2023 |
Harvest Time Single Spring Harvest (一番茶) |
Harvest Method 100% Handpicked (手摘み, Tezumi) |
Shading Style Traditional Rice Straw (ほんず, Honzu) |
Shading Duration 43 days |
Milling Ishi-Usu (石臼) Stone-Milled by Ooika |
Packaging Cold-stored, oxygen-free bag |
Visit the Farm
OOIKA MATCHA leads the industry with the most precise souring details and transparency. Let’s visit Yamazakiさん’s farm and see where this Matcha comes from.
Awards
Yamazakiさん is a highly distinguished farmer, with numerous awards and competition placements. Below is a selected, and non-exhaustive list.
First Place, Kansai Tea Competition, for years 2005, 2009, 2013, 2018
First Place, All Japan Tea Competition, for years 2013, 2018, 2023
First Place, Uji-city Tea Competition, won 8 consecutive years placing first from 2012-2019
First Place, 2018 at all four levels and farm appearance... Uji, Kyoto, Kansai & All Japan and Tea Field/Farm Appearance
Sourcing Details
Cultivar Details
Ujihikari (うじひかり)
When shaded with Tana (a raised shelf), the small, wavy and shiny leaves of Ujihikari exude the captivating yet intriguing sweet aromas: sometimes reminiscent of straw, seaweed, and even rice koji. This distinctive scent is known as “Ooika”, or the “Aroma of Shadows.” Ujihikari has one of the most beautiful expressions of Ooika.
This uncommon and highly sought-after cultivar was selected from a Zairai field in 1954 by the Kyoto Tea Research Institute and has been cultivated within Kyoto Prefecture ever since. Its erect shape makes it ideal for handpicking. Ujihikari produces a bright green, mild-umami Matcha, although it has a low production volume.
One of the most beautiful characteristics of Ujihikari is its bright green, small, wavy leaves. This is a challenge for tea pickers, who take great care with such small leaves when harvesting the Ujihikari glossy and soft spring leaves.
Producer Details
Yamazakiさん
Ooika is thrilled to offer this exceptionally rare and historic Matcha, from the fields of Yamazakiさん in Gokasho Oyagijima, Uji, Kyoto.
Every year, Japan holds the annual National Tea Competition (全国茶品評会基本要綱) which judges 7 teas across 8 different categories.
This year (2023) marked the 77th year of the competition, held in Yame City, Fukuoka to celebrate the 600th anniversary of tea production in Yame from between 22nd-25th of August. The importance of this event can not be understated.
Yamazakiさん was this year’s first-place winner in the first category for the Tencha (Unground Matcha) division for his Ujihikari cultivar, which achieved a perfect score.
Through a chance meeting after a conversation with another Uji farmer we source from, we were introduced to Yamazakiさん and enjoyed a bowl of Matcha at his family home.
Ooika was allowed to purchase Tencha from the very field that won this year’s first place in the National Tea Competition. Never before has Yamazakiさん’s single-estate Tencha made it to the United States.
Region Details
Gokasho, Uji, Kyoto, Japan
Kyoto city has a long-established relationship with tea, with numerous historical and cultural developments. As home to the artistic and intellectual, Japan’s culture and identity was shaped here.
Being a city nestled within mountains and far away from the sea, many essential products needed to be brought into Kyoto from the nearby areas of Lake Biwa, Uji, Kizu, and Tamba-Sasayama.
Traveling monks and merchants would bring tea, the precious cargo from China, where its links to Zen Buddhism – and tea – originated. In fact, Kozanji Temple (north of Uji) was among the first grounds to grow tea in Japan. In that period, cultivation happened mostly inside temples.
The Uji area has seen a lot of transformations over the centuries, from hosting Heian aristocrats’ villas in the Heian period to being one of the boat transportation arteries for goods. Together with the Kizu River, they delivered goods to Kyoto and the Kobe-Osaka bay ports, where exports happened.
It also saw the birth of an incipient tea agriculture in the Kamakura period, which developed the shading techniques for Tencha production in the late 16th century. From there, Uji became an unparalleled production area and a highly sought-after terroir for Matcha.
In particular, the Gokasho area, on the east side of the Uji River, is also home to the Manpukiji temple, where monks popularized leaf tea in contrast to powdered tea common in other sects.
The key to Gokasho was its fan-shaped, gently sloped, sandy terrain leading to the Uji River, with some fields still existing just next to the riverbed. The area also benefited from the mists, humidity, and protection of the Uji River.
Most importantly, Gokasho was prime land for the processing facilities and warehouses responsible for producing the highly sought-after tea of Uji and distributing it to the Capital or elsewhere.
Like in other areas of Uji City, the land available for tea cultivation is shrinking as urban expansion continues. Matcha grown in Gokasho is exceptionally rare and both a historical and delicious experience.
