Kimberley's Kyusu

It’s Matcha Monday and this week I want to introduce you to Azuma Tea Farms’ Wazuka No Asahi Matcha, which is part of their single cultivar range available on the Yunomi website. Over the last two years, I have been focusing on trying as many matchas from this range as possible and while I definitely have my favourites, out of everything I have tried so far they have all been a consistent level of quality.

This particular matcha is no different in terms of that level of quality, which means that Azuma Tea had to put in an incredible level of hard work into creating it. As it is produced using the Asahi cultivar, which was developed in Kyoto and is known for providing leaves that result in the highest grade of matcha, this cultivar is notoriously difficult to grow and may not always produce very high quality, especially when cultivating without use of pesticides or chemical fertilizers (which this tea is cultivated without the use of).

Since this tin of matcha arrived at my house, I have done a number of session with it. Usually when I am preparing usucha I will use around 3-5g of matcha and the adequate ratio of water for whichever end of that scale I decide upon. Usually 2-2.5g of matcha calls for 70ml of water, so I work out how much water I will need based on that. I have prepared this matcha as koicha only once and sadly I wouldn’t say that it is very well suited to being prepared that way and so I have stuck to drinking it as usucha since then.

In its dry form this matcha is vibrant and warm toned; spring green, light and fluffy in texture. Its aroma has prominent floral notes and every time I open this tin of matcha, they very quickly fill the air. When combined with the vegetal notes that are also present I am transported to a beautiful wildflower meadow on a sunny summer evening. Other notes in the dry aroma of this matcha include: Milky rose, springtime grass and freshly baked pastries with almond. Once water is added, the aroma becomes much more vegetal heavy, but does still have those milky floral notes present. It froths easily and forms a thick vibrant green, underneath which is a rich forest green liquor.

This matcha, from the first sip to the last, is delectably rich, smooth and fresh with a fantastic level of umami. There is some bitterness present, but it was not enough bitterness to hinder my overall enjoyment of this matcha overall. It was a little more savoury than I expected, given the sweetness of its aroma, and had notes of salted French butter, seaweed crackers, springtime grass, milky rose, freshly harvested hay, sparkling spring water and wet rocks coated with moss. It seems to get even creamier as it begins to cool and coats the mouth completely, with a creaminess akin to steamed frothed milk with a touch of vanilla, which has made me very excited to try this iced as the weather gets warmer. When prepared as usucha, it has a particularly long lasting finish with a lingering milky sweetness and a touch of pistachio cream spread.

Each bowl of this matcha that I have had the pleasure to sip on has left me feeling serene, but also in inspired and focused.

As I mentioned toward the start of this post, I have been lucky enough to try a lot of Azuma Tea Farms matcha and I have enjoyed each one of them for their own reasons. However I would say that so far this is one of the most unique ones, because I was able to pick out notes within its aroma and taste profiles that have never been able to pick out from other matchas. I will definitely do an official ranking of all of the matchas I have tried from Azuma one day but for now just know that this one sits pretty close to the top.

If you have the chance to try matcha from anywhere new this year, I would highly recommend going with Azuma Tea Farms. Because you are in for a unique and memorable experience no matter which of them you pick.

Should you want to try out this matcha for yourself, you can find it here on the Yunomi website. Where you can use my code INFKKYU to get ¥1000 off an order of ¥5000 or more.

Until next time, Happy Steeping – Kimberley