Samidori Matcha · classic tin, 20 g
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OMMA has grown up with every trip to Japan, and has a new look. This is one of the last of our classic tins: our very first design, with the girl who has a whisk on her head. The same matcha inside, now for less.
The rarest matcha in our collection: hand-picked once a year by the Furukawa family in Gokasho, Uji, and stone-milled at just 40 g an hour. Soft, rich and refined, best enjoyed pure.
How to prepare (best enjoyed pure)
Usucha
Mix 2 g of matcha with 10–15 g of water (80°C) in circular motions to make a smooth paste.
Once it’s fully dissolved, add 90–100 g of water.
Whisk briskly in a zigzag motion until a soft foam forms.
Iced usucha
Add 2 g of sifted matcha to a shaker or thermos with 200 ml of cold filtered water. Shake vigorously for 30 seconds, then pour over ice.
Koicha
Add 25 g of water (80°C) to 3 g of matcha.
Knead slowly with the whisk in circular motions, without whisking to a froth, until thick and silky with no foam.
Iced koicha
Add 20 g of water (80°C) to 3 g of matcha.
Knead slowly with the whisk in circular motions, without whisking to a froth, until thick and silky with no foam.
Place a few ice cubes on top. As they slowly melt, they gently soften the taste.
This is a matcha to treat yourself with, like a small celebration or a gentle gift to yourself when you want a true indulgence. It’s not for every day but for special moments, alone or with the people you love. It will surprise you with unexpected flavours and awaken the explorer in you, eager to discover every new nuance.
Samidori (さみどり) means “fresh young green”. It was selected in Uji from local tea bushes and officially registered in the mid-20th century. It covers only 0.7% of Japan’s tea fields, roughly one bush in every 140. Samidori is traditionally grown in the shade for tencha and gyokuro. Its leaves are tender and hold a lot of moisture, and its taste is soft and naturally sweet, with deep umami and almost no bitterness. It’s often called the taste of classic Kyoto matcha.
Where it grows:
Kyoto: the main region. According to the Furukawa farm, Samidori is the most widely grown cultivar for hand-picked tencha in Uji. It grows in Uji, Ujitawara, Wazuka and Kyotanabe, mostly for premium matcha and gyokuro.
Elsewhere: there are small plantings in Kagoshima, where your Yabukita Samidori comes from, and in a few other southern regions, but they’re the exception.
Feeding the soil. All year round, the farm takes special care of its soil. To grow rich umami the organic way, the land is fed with seaweed, fish bones, sesame and plant matter from the tea fields.
Indirect shading. 3–4 weeks before harvest, shade nets are hung high above the bushes, leaving plenty of space between the leaves and the cover. The bushes can breathe freely, and the leaves become softer, vivid green and rich in umami.
Harvest. The whole village comes together for the harvest: friends, neighbours and tea lovers. Over two weeks they pick the leaves by hand, using a special method that takes only the most tender, palest leaves. The leaves are gathered in baskets, weighed every two hours and sent to the factory.
Steaming. Right after picking, the leaves are steamed to stop oxidation and keep their colour and freshness.
Drying. The leaves are dried flat, without rolling as for sencha. This makes tencha, the base for matcha.
Refining. Smart sorting machines remove the stems and veins, leaving only the pure leaf.
“The tea sleeps”. The tencha is sealed in airtight bags and rested in cold rooms for 7–8 months. This is where the magic happens: the flavour slowly matures, gaining depth and complexity and revealing its special character.
Milling. The tencha is slowly ground on traditional stone mills, only about 40 g an hour.
Storage: keep in a cool, dry place.
Why only 20 g? It’s made in tiny quantities: only about 1 kg reaches us every two months.
Is it ceremonial? There is no certification or grading in Japan that defines a "ceremonial" grade. Matcha is only ceremonial when it’s prepared in a tea ceremony. This hand-picked, stone-milled matcha is made to be enjoyed pure, as usucha or koicha.