History
Matcha entered Japan from Song China in 1191 through the Zen monk Eisai, who planted the first tea seeds at Kosanji Temple in Kyoto's northwest. The Uji region south of Kyoto became Japan's matcha heartland; tea merchants Ippodo (founded 1717), Marukyu Koyamaen (founded 1704) and Nakamura Tokichi (founded 1854) still grade and grind the country's reference matcha. The modern matcha-cafe wave starting at Tsujiri Gion in the 1990s exported Kyoto matcha-as-dessert globally.
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Tours, tastings and classes that match this page, bookable on GetYourGuide.
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 2g ceremonial-grade matcha (one teaspoon)
- 60ml hot water at 80C (not boiling)
- A bamboo chasen tea whisk
- A chawan tea bowl, warmed with hot water
Method
- Warm the chawan bowl with hot water, then empty and dry.
- Sift the matcha powder into the bowl through a fine strainer to remove any lumps.
- Pour the 80C water in a slow stream into the bowl over the matcha.
- Whisk briskly with the chasen in a zig-zag M motion, keeping the whisk near the surface, for 15-20 seconds.
- Stop when a fine foam covers the surface; lift the whisk vertically out of the bowl.
- Drink in three sips, finishing with the foam layer.
Tip from the editors. Water temperature is the single biggest variable. Boiling water destroys the L-theanine and turns matcha bitter; aim for 75-80C, no more.
Where to eat matcha
Matcha in Kyoto
Ippodo Kaboku Tea Room ★ 4.6
Ippodo's tasting room on Teramachi, Kyoto, opened by the tea merchant founded in 1717. Located in Karasuma Kawaramachi. Order the ceremonial-grade matcha set.
DrinkCeremonial-grade matcha set
Gion Tsujiri ★ 4.3
The Gion outpost of the 1860 Uji tea-merchant Tsujiri, opening for matcha parfaits and matcha soba until 20:00, the latest such room in Higashiyama Kyoto.
DrinkMatcha parfait
Marukyu Koyamaen Nishinotoin ★ 4.4
Marukyu Koyamaen's Kyoto tasting room on Nishinotoin, run by the Uji tea house founded 1704. Sit in a sashed garden tatami room and order matcha by farm.
DrinkStone-ground matcha set
Yugen Kyoto ★ 4.4
A modern matcha cafe and tasting room on Sanjo-dori, Kyoto. Matcha and hojicha by farm, plus the city's best Kyoto-style cold milk-matcha programme.
DrinkKyoto-style iced matcha latte
Nakamura Tokichi Kyoto Station ★ 4.4
The Kyoto Station outpost of the 1854 Uji tea-house Nakamura Tokichi. The Maruto parfait, matcha or hojicha, is the depachika's standing all-day queue.
DrinkMaruto matcha parfait
Kagizen Yoshifusa ★ 4.6
An 18th-century wagashi maker on Shijo-dori with a tatami tea room behind the storefront. Tsukimi rabbit jellies and the most quoted kuzukiri in Kyoto.
DrinkKuzukiri with kuromitsu
More cities are in research. Want matcha covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.