Platinum SS Matcha (Ceremonial Grade, Uji, 30g)

This is not everyday matcha, and it is not priced like it. Aicha Platinum Matcha SS is a blended Uji matcha, the highest grade we produce, built mainly on the Okumidori and Samidori cultivars. Uji, just south of Kyoto, has been the reference point for Japanese matcha for some eight hundred years, and Samidori is a traditional Uji cultivar long grown for ceremonial matcha. 

The leaf is stone-ground in the traditional way. Stone milling is slow, but it keeps the powder cool as it is ground, preserving the aroma and colour that faster industrial grinding strips away. 

What defines Platinum SS is the selection. So that the tea can be prepared as koicha, the thick style served in formal tea ceremony, only the portions of leaf that deliver exceptional sweetness and rich umami are used. 

Koicha is unforgiving: there is nowhere for bitterness to hide when the tea is that concentrated. Because so much leaf is set aside during this selection, supply is naturally very limited. Grade letters are not regulated, and the quality behind them varies enormously between suppliers. 

Rather than ask you to trust a letter on a label, we tell you the region, the cultivars, the grinding method and what the tea can actually do in the bowl. 
To prepare usucha: sift 2g, add 70ml of water at 80C and whisk briskly in a W motion until frothy.

To prepare koicha: sift 4g, add 30ml of water at 80C and blend slowly into a smooth paste. 

Reseal after opening and keep refrigerated, away from light and strong odours. 30g tin, approximately 15 servings of usucha. Made in Japan.