Along with Kyoto’s long history of cultivating matcha, gyokuro, and other green tea varieties, the area has seen the emergence of numerous unique tea varieties. The most notable is matcha built around a samidori leaf base: this richly aromatic and splendidly colored green tea is of the finest quality, offering a balance of rich, sweet green taste and mild bitterness and astringency. It can be used for everything from a “weaker” daily matcha to a thick brew used for formal occasions.

Production of powdered green tea, the base which forms matcha, is said to be best near river areas with simultaneously good drainage and water retention. Powdered green tea produced in plains near rivers is called hamacha and has a distinctively thin inner leaf tissue. Within Kyoto, the Kizugawa area is known as the best producer of powdered tea for matcha.

Kyoto is home to many traditional green tea varieties used for matcha and gyokuro – numerous fine tea strains are produced, including samidori, asahi, and kogō. Samidori has a rich aroma, strong sweet note, and a bold green color. This tea starts with the slightly ladylike, gentle taste of samidori and then accents it with the bold flavor of yabukita.

Green tea leaves intended for matcha powder require considerable amounts of time and effort to raise properly: leaves are shade-grown under a traditional hand-thatched roof consisting of a wooden lattice covered with straw, and the harvest is done by hand. The crop is then processed using a strictly maintained specialty furnace that dries the leaves. Finally, milling the leaves into a fine, high quality powder can only be achieved through a traditional stone mortar.

Grinding the dried leaves in this way disperses excess heat caused by friction and prevents the leaves from being altered as they otherwise would be in a machine grinder. The pulverized powder reaches micron-level fineness – just small enough to keep from breaking the granules’ cell walls. Though microscopic in size, the cellular structure of the leaf powder is what retains matcha’s distinctive taste and smell. Today’s production of top-grade matcha is achieved through an exacting fusion of cutting-edge technology and traditional techniques. (The majority of matcha powder available outside of Japan is pulverized with industrial machinery.)