Osada Tea is a Japanese family-owned tea business in Shizuoka dedicated to sustainable farming and producing high-quality green teas. Natsumi Osada, an 8th-dan tea appraiser, is the head of Osada Tea and continues the family tradition of organic tea cultivation. Prioritizing relationships for decades, they work closely with tea farmers, particularly in the Isagawa region. Both a manufacturer and a wholesaler, Osada Tea is pioneering the way to make good matcha more accessible domestically and internationally. We are honored to partner with Osada Tea to offer you this matcha!

 

What makes this matcha special?

Samidori Matcha is an award-winning, single-origin, single-cultivar matcha, which is rare as most matchas are blends from multiple origins and of different cultivars.

 

The Samidori cultivar is special in that the young sprouts grow upright making it suitable to be harvested by hand. The term in Japanese for hand-picked tea is 'tezumi'. The tea leaves are hand-picked from the first harvest and have been shaded for 3 weeks. Samidori is a cultivar that is known to have a delicate, yet permeating umami flavor due to the high amino acid content. Osada Tea has applied a low amount of roast to the tencha as a way to bring out more complexity. For those unfamiliar with the upfront roasted notes that this matcha may have, please wait for 6-8 minutes before sipping for these notes to soften. 

Recommended for making usucha or koicha because the delicate flavors will be lost with the addition of milk at our standard matcha to liquid ratio.

Still wanting to try and make a matcha latte using this powder?  Try our recipe below. 

 

How To Prepare Usucha (Thin Matcha)

1 tsp (2g) matcha powder
1/4 cup (60ml) water at 176F (80C)

 

1. Sift the matcha powder into a bowl.

2. Soften the bamboo whisk by submerging it in hot water for 30 seconds before whisking. 

3. Add water to the matcha powder. Whisk vigorously back and forth in a straight line until frothy and no clumps remain for about 30 seconds. (The placement of your whisk should be near the bottom of the bowl).

4. Lift the whisk near the surface and whisk in a zigzag direction for 10-15 seconds to break the big bubbles to create a microfoam.

5. Enjoy your bowl of usucha*.

If you would like for the roasted notes to soften, please wait 6-8 minutes and then enjoy. 

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How To Prepare Koicha (Thick Matcha)

2 tsp (4g) matcha powder

1/8 cup (30ml) water at 176F (80C)

 

1. Sift matcha powder into a bowl.

2. Soften the bamboo whisk by submerging it in hot water for 30 seconds before whisking.

3. Add water to the matcha powder. Gently and slowly mix the matcha with the water by using circular, kneading motions until you get a creamy, paint-like consistency. 

4. Enjoy your bowl of koicha.  

If you would like for the roasted notes to soften, please wait 6-8 minutes and then enjoy. 

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Matcha Latte Recipe (Stronger)

2 tsp (4g) matcha powder
1/4 cup (60ml) water at 176F (80C)
1/2 cup (120ml) milk
2 tsp sugar (optional)

 

1. Sift matcha powder into a bowl.

2. Soften the bamboo whisk by submerging it in hot water for 30 seconds before whisking.

3. Add water to the matcha powder. Whisk vigorously back and forth in a straight line until frothy and no clumps remain for about 30 seconds. (The placement of your whisk should be near the bottom of the bowl).

4. Lift the whisk near the surface and whisk in a zigzag direction for 10-15 seconds to break the big bubbles to create a microfoam.

5. Mix sugar with milk until sugar has dissolved. 

6. Pour whisked matcha on milk and enjoy!

This is a stronger, more concentrated matcha latte meant to be savored slowly. Pour over a good amount of ice or as is to enjoy. 

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Katelyn's Tips:

• Matcha has a tendency to clump, so sifting ensures a smoother texture. In the case you do not have a sieve, take the edge of your tea scoop or spoon and draw vertical and horizontal lines across the powder to separate as many clumps as possible. Envision drawing a 4x4 tic-tac-toe grid. 

• *For usucha: whisking vigorously means to whisk at a fast pace so you can aerate the matcha. Keep the whisk in one plane as you whisk back and forth. Avoid pressing the whisk into the bottom of the bowl although gently scraping the bowl sometimes cannot be avoided.