Family Ookawa

The organic tea garden of our partner for Matcha is located on Honshu, the largest of the four main islands of Japan, in the Uji region, not far from the city of Kyoto, in the prefecture of the same name.

---

"The taste of the Bio Uji Matcha can be appreciated for the taste of the old Matcha varieties that the nobles in Kyoto tasted hundreds of years ago when Kyoto was still the capital of Japan But the tea from Uji was considered the real tea (Hon-Cha). "

Not far from Kyoto, 794 to 1869 seat of the imperial court of Japan, lies the small place Uji. It gained its importance when the aristocracy established a form of betting games, which was about distinguishing the "real tea" (Hon-Cha) from "un-tea" (Hi-Cha). At that time only "tea" from Togano was considered "genuine", and the tea from Uji soon after. Since then, Uji is one of the most prestigious place for tea cultivation.

The drinking of powder tea, which had already developed as a form of preparation in China during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), was raised as a separate art form during the tea ceremony, which blossomed in Japan, whereas in China it was almost forgotten As well. As the aristocracy began to appreciate the mildness of covered tea, Uji developed into the most important place for the production of Matcha and Gyokuro, both of which are shaded about three weeks before the harvest.