Asked, answered.

WHISK. selects small lots from family tea gardens and names the origin of every tin: Uji, Kyoto or Yame, Fukuoka, always a single origin. Four tins: Uji Hikari and Saemidori (ceremonial first-harvest single cultivars from Uji), Botanist Blend (Okumidori and Yabukita, Uji, first and second harvest), and Everyday Blend (Yame, first and second harvest). Leaves are carefully processed and slowly stone-ground. Questions are always welcome at hello@whiskmatcha.jp.

Uji Hikari (宇治光), meaning “Light of Uji,” is a Kyoto cultivar. WHISK. offers it as ceremonial first-harvest (ichibancha) single-origin matcha from Uji, Kyoto: shaded tencha, stone-ground. Tasting notes: deep umami, creamy, lingering sweetness. It comes in a 30 g tin.

Saemidori (さえみどり), meaning “vivid green,” is a Japanese cultivar (Yabukita × Asatsuyu). WHISK. offers it as ceremonial first-harvest single-origin matcha from Uji, Kyoto. Tasting notes: natural sweetness, silky, soft umami, fresh greens.

On WHISK. pages, “ceremonial” describes finer, bowl-first matcha from carefully shaded leaves, finely stone-ground. The term was coined for Western export markets and is not a legal or regulated grade in Japan; there, matcha is described by origin, cultivar, harvest, and use. One expectation has settled into broad public consensus, though: ceremonial matcha should be first harvest, and we hold ourselves to it. Our single cultivars, Uji Hikari and Saemidori, are first harvest, the profile the term is generally understood to mean. Botanist Blend and Everyday Blend bring together first and second harvest leaf, so they do not carry the word; each product page lists its harvests. They are quality matcha composed for milk and the daily bowl, and are just as happily enjoyed whisked straight. The most reliable guide to any matcha is its cultivar, harvest, and named origin, and we name all three on every product page.

First harvest (ichibancha) is the spring flush, the first pick of the season. Our ceremonial singles Uji Hikari and Saemidori are first harvest. Botanist Blend and Everyday Blend bring together first and second harvest; each product page lists its harvests. Tea fields are picked again later in the year (a third and, in some regions, a fourth harvest); much of the matcha sold abroad as “culinary grade” comes from these later harvests, when the leaf grows coarser. WHISK. uses only the first and second.

Yes. Each tin is single origin: either all Uji, Kyoto or all Yame, Fukuoka. Uji Hikari, Saemidori, and Botanist Blend are Uji; Everyday Blend is Yame. We never blend prefectures in one tin, so the origin on the label is exactly where the tea grew.

Uji Hikari and Saemidori are ceremonial-grade single cultivars from Uji, Kyoto, first harvest: delicate straight, smooth and sweet in milk. Botanist Blend (Okumidori and Yabukita, Uji) and Everyday Blend (Yame, Fukuoka) combine first and second harvest for a bolder latte, or a brisk bowl straight. Every tin names its one origin.

We release our matcha in small lots, and each lot usually sells out before the next one is ready. Join the restock list on any product page or on the Matcha page, and we will email you the moment a new lot is available, before it is announced anywhere else.

Yes! Every tin travels tracked from Japan with Japan Post to Asia (Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam), North America (Canada, the United States), the United Kingdom and Oceania (Australia, New Zealand). Times, duties and the finer details are on our Delivery & Returns page.

Shipping within Japan is free on every order. Internationally, Standard (International Air Packet) is free on every order to Asia and Australia. To the UK, Canada and New Zealand it is ¥1,500, and to the United States ¥2,200, free on orders of ¥8,000 or more. If you'd like your matcha sooner, Express (EMS) is ¥1,200 to Asia, ¥3,900 to Australia, the UK, Canada and New Zealand, and ¥4,900 to the United States. Every order ships tracked from Japan.

As matcha is a food product, we are unable to accept returns for a change of mind. If it arrives damaged or you receive the wrong item, email us within 7 days of delivery and we will send a replacement or a refund; you won’t need to send anything back. The details are on our Returns & Refunds page.