Wild Zairai Matcha - Morisakiさん Wazuka. 20g
TASTING NOTES
Wild Grass. Bitter Gourd. Kinako.
Highly rare matcha made from Zairai (wild-grown) tea bushes. Chaotic and shifting in nature, like wildflowers and grass. Powerful bitterness over a smooth tahini base. Not for beginners.
Stone-Milled: Fresh Ground in Lawrenceville, NJ
TASTING NOTES
Wild Grass. Bitter Gourd. Kinako.
Highly rare matcha made from Zairai (wild-grown) tea bushes. Chaotic and shifting in nature, like wildflowers and grass. Powerful bitterness over a smooth tahini base. Not for beginners.
Stone-Milled: Fresh Ground in Lawrenceville, NJ
TASTING NOTES
Wild Grass. Bitter Gourd. Kinako.
Highly rare matcha made from Zairai (wild-grown) tea bushes. Chaotic and shifting in nature, like wildflowers and grass. Powerful bitterness over a smooth tahini base. Not for beginners.
Stone-Milled: Fresh Ground in Lawrenceville, NJ
About this Matcha
Toasted grain aroma with a pleasing natural green hue that foams into light mossy green peaks. Chaotic in nature, shifting from a cold puckering bitterness in the center of the tongue to a rounded back. Kinako and bitter gourd. Tahini-evoking, hidden under the foliage of green fields of abundant wildlife. Thick and molasses. Opens into an aromatic floral bouquet on the finish.
Wild (Zairai) Matcha is exceptionally rare. Today, effectively all commercially-produced Japanese tea is made from cultivars. Less than 2% of all tea in Japan is from wild, seed-grown tea. When it comes to Matcha, Zairai (Wild) is almost unheard of. Ooika was able to commission some to be made from our farmer and friend Morisakiさん of Wazuka, Japan.
While this tea is not ideal for beginners as it has a high degree of bitterness, it will allow you to get a sense of the past centuries of Matcha… Back when all Matcha was made from wild plants – and embraced the unpredictability of mother nature.
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To make a fresh and smooth bowl of Usucha or Koicha, follow our whisking 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) |
Cultivar Wild Zairai (在来) |
Producer Morisakiさん |
Terroir Wazuka, Kyoto, Japan |
Vintage 2024 |
Harvest Time Single Spring Harvest (一番茶) |
Harvest Method Sentei Ki (剪定機) |
Shading Style Jikabuse (じかぶせ) |
Shading Duration 20 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 Morisakiさん’s farm and see where this Matcha comes from.
Sourcing Details
Cultivar Details
Zairai (在来)
Zairai (在来) is a term for tea bushes grown from seeds, rather than from clippings (which are cultivar clones.) Zairai (在来) is highly unusual for Japanese tea—especially so for Matcha. There are a few reasons why:
First, Zairai (在来) bushes are chaotic and unpredictable. Farmers cannot estimate the correct harvest time, unlike clones, which are consistent from season to season. Being genetically individual, the Zairai (在来) will have different aromas, flavors, yields, and properties.
The primary goal of most Matcha manufacturers, excluding the rather unconventional Ooika, is to ensure that a Matcha blend will taste the same from year to year. This is a task made impossible with wild-grown Zairai (在来) bushes.
The result is Zairai are usually only kept out of the sentimentality of the farmers who keep them, rather than for large-scale economic reasons.
Ooika’s relationship with Morisakiさん has allowed us to commission some wild Zairai bushes on his property to be turned into Tencha (unground Matcha), which we have stone-mill into Matcha in the USA.
Producer Details
Morisakiさん
Tokyo-born, IT/Environmental engineer turned tea farmer, Morisakiさん.
Many of the native tea plants, known as Zairai (在来) in his garden are over a century old.
This is very uncommon, as old bush trees produce less tea, and are less attractive on the commercial market.
Morisakiさん protects them, giving us access to the wild authenticity of the land.
Region Details
Wazuka, Kyoto
Nestled in a valley, among the rolling hills of Wazuka. Morisakiさん watches over various cultivars, as well as wild tea bushes (known as Zairai.)
Maintaining Zairai wild bushes is an uncommon practice - as these bushes are more unpredictable in yield, harvest time, and taste.
