How our matcha is made
At Yuzuki, we have always believed:
matcha is not made — it is carefully cared for.
Every sip carries the patience of the land,
the persistence of the tea farmer,
and our own devotion to flavor.
What the world sees is a single tin of matcha.
What we see is an entire life cycle —
from sunlight, soil, and leaves, to the final grind.
The first leaf: terroir is the soul of matcha
Four to eight weeks before harvest, the tea plants are gently shaded.
During this time, they enter a calm discipline —
like a quiet conversation with moonlight.
Shading is not a technique, but a rhythm.
Growth slows above ground,
while roots work harder beneath the soil, drawing nourishment.
This slowing brings subtle but profound change:
Higher amino acid content
Richer chlorophyll
A softer, more vivid flavor
A gentle umami, often described as “moonlit”
This is one of the core sources of Yuzuki flavor.
Shading: the quietest stage of matcha’s life
Whether it is by hand or by machine, harvesting tea is hard work. These plucked tea leaves will then be transported to a processing plant where it will become tencha.
For many small plot farmers, the harvest season is extremely busy. Agricultural labor is in short supply in Japan, and elderly farmers often call upon their grown children to temporarily come back from the cities to lend a hand. The harvest is then sold to a tea production company.
From fresh leaf to tencha: time purifies flavor
Each freshly picked leaf begins a quiet journey of refinement:
sorting, steaming, cooling, drying, and cutting into tencha.
We believe good matcha does not rush.
No step should move too quickly.
Tencha is stored calmly at low temperatures,
like hibernation — waiting to be awakened.
Every batch is tasted and recorded by tea masters,
because variety, land, and year are never the same.
Yuzuki’s craft lies in turning these differences
into a single, harmonious melody.
Grinding: the final ritual beneath moonlight
Grinding is the final stage of matcha’s life —
and the most delicate.
We insist on low-temperature stone-mill grinding:
slow in pace, but finer in texture.
Excess speed creates heat, and heat steals aroma and nutrients.
From tencha to powder, the process requires:
Extremely slow stone rotation
Strict temperature control
A clean, carefully managed environment
Every gram of matcha is shaped by thousands of gentle stone touches —
a softness as fine as moonlight.
