A Day in the Life of Our Matcha, From Uji Field to Your Cup in Amsterdam
Every bowl of matcha served at our counter has already traveled roughly 9,000 kilometers and passed through the hands of farmers, processors, and grinders who've spent generations refining a single craft. It's worth knowing that story before your next sip.
It starts in the shade
Our matcha comes from Uji, a region just outside Kyoto that has been associated with exceptional tea cultivation since the 13th century. About three to four weeks before harvest, farmers cover the tea bushes with shade cloth, blocking most direct sunlight. This stresses the plant just enough to increase chlorophyll and amino acid production, the same process responsible for matcha's vivid color and naturally sweet, umami flavor.
Hand picked, then steamed immediately
The youngest, most tender leaves are picked, often still by hand for the highest grades, then steamed within hours of harvest to halt oxidation. This is the step that locks in matcha's green color and prevents the leaves from developing the darker, more astringent character you'd get from oxidized teas like black tea.
Stone ground, slowly
After drying, the leaves, now called tencha, have their stems and veins removed, leaving only the soft leaf body. These are then ground, traditionally using granite stone mills, into the ultra fine powder we know as matcha. This grinding process is slow by design. Stone mills generate less heat than mechanical grinders, protecting the delicate flavor compounds from degrading.
From Kyoto to Kinkerstraat
From there, the matcha is packed and shipped to Amsterdam, where it arrives at our cafe on Kinkerstraat. We store it carefully, since matcha is sensitive to light, heat, and air, and we work through stock regularly to make sure what's in your bowl was ground recently, not sitting in a warehouse for a year.
The whole process, from shaded field to your table, represents centuries of refined technique. It's a lot of effort behind a drink that takes us under two minutes to prepare.
