Special Experience

Kyoto

Venture into the World of Top Grade Organic Matcha and Matcha Sweets at a Longstanding Tea Producer in Uji, Kyoto

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イメージ拡大マーク
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Overview

The southern Kyoto Prefecture city of Uji has long been renowned for its green tea. The organic matcha of longstanding producer Kane7 Hatakeyama Seicha is of special global acclaim, having won prizes as far away as Paris. Learn all about the cultivation and processing by which tea plants become matcha powder from proprietor Tomoharu Hatakeyama, and how to get the best out of this fine organic matcha from proprietor of matcha sweets brand Treee’s Kyoto, Shinsuke Kimura. Delight in a course of sweets and a tasting of top grade organic matcha. This is truly a matcha experience for all five senses.

Key Features

・Taste freshly stone-milled top grade organic Uji matcha at Kane7 Hatakeyama Seicha
・Delight in a luxurious course of matcha sweets prepared right before your eyes by confectionery and sommelier Shinsuke Kimura, founder and head of the matcha sweets brand Treee’s Kyoto
・Experience tea ceremony in a traditional tatami room with matcha prepared by Hatakeyama

Kyoto

120mins

from ¥101,000 /person

Private event

1 - 8 participants

Available in English

Cancel free up to 6 days prior

* If fewer than 2 participants, the minimum fee will be JPY 202,000

Details

The World Class Organic Matcha of Kane7 Hatakeyama

Uji matcha, grown in eponymous Uji City of Kyoto Prefecture, is considered one of Japan’s three major tea varieties. In this experience, visitors can step inside Kane7 Hatakeyama Seicha, an Uji tea producer and wholesaler that has been in business for over 270 years since its founding in 1751. Kane7 continues to produce high quality tea that incorporates the rich traditions and history of the craft, specializing in organic tea grown without the use of chemical fertilizers. It is currently helmed by its 20th generation proprietor, Tomoharu Hatakeyama, who carries those traditions forward through a variety of pursuits. “It is my hope,” he says, “that people the world over can discover the charms of tea.”

The striking logo of the Kane7 Matcha Lab, featuring a motif of tea leaf and whisk

Included among these wide-ranging pursuits are export sales, tea workshops, and competitions. “Matcha has become more widely known than it ever was, but in Japan there are still a lot of preconceptions attached to it. Our aim is a matcha that literally anyone at all can try and simply love.” Kane7’s organic matcha also took home top prize in the Japanese Tea Selection Paris, held in France. This global recognition of quality is a major point of pride.

Proprietor Tomoharu Hatakeyama, of Kane7 Hatakeyama Seicha

The Kane7 Matcha Lab, a Space to Discover Japan’s Tea Culture

The Kane7 Hatakeyama Tea Factory stands on the banks of the Uji River, and the venue for this experience is its attached Kane7 Matcha Lab, an “Experience Cafe” offering Kane7’s original “Kaneshichi Organic Tea” alongside a plethora of knowledge and learning. The space is thoughtfully decorated with touches of tea-centric details, such as the whisk-shaped ceiling lamps and numerous displays of tea utensils crafted by Kyoto artists.

The thoughtfully designed interior of the Kane7 Matcha Lab

Japan has long cherished time spent over tea with loved ones. As Hatakeyama puts it, tea has always been a centerpiece of restful and pleasant communion. “I wish the world knew the charm and tranquility of tea, and of whiling away the time in relaxed enjoyment.” This wish was the germ from which Kane7 Matcha Lab sprouted.

Hatakeyama’s special selection of tea utensils

Creating the Ultimate Organic Matcha

Hatakeyama begins the experience with a crash course in the process of tea leaf cultivation. In the Kane7 Hatakeyama Seicha tea fields, top quality plants are grown with unique methods. Here you can learn what makes soil suitable for delicious tea leaves, and how they grow. Experiencing the world of the tea farmers is a chance to really grasp the fundamentals of matcha production.

Tea fields where you can encounter the natural terroir of Uji

Today, a great deal of tea is machine-harvested, but Hatakeyama also deals in leaf harvested by hand as has been done since time immemorial. Traditional methods and meticulous fertilization control mean that yields are more limited in volume, but also higher in quality. Talking with Hatakeyama is a rare chance to hear a longtime insider’s perspective on the process and business of tea production and wholesale, and a window into the thought process of a tea farmer committed to fine cultivation methods.

Different varieties of tea exhibit different colors and flavors.

Stone-milling for Fragrant Matcha

After learning all about the cultivation process, it’s time to experience how these leaves become matcha powder. Matcha is unique among teas for its use of tea leaf powder in the finished cup, meaning that drinkers are consuming the leaf itself rather than just the steeped and extracted liquor. To produce this powder, stems and veins are removed from dried tea leaf to create tencha (leaf prepared for milling into matcha), which is then stone-milled into the rich flavorful powder that is matcha.

Tencha (matcha leaves) being stone-milled into matcha powder

Mechanized stone mills are commonly used to grind tea leaves, but participants in this experience use a special hand-operated stone mill for a finer appreciation of the optimal technique, where the trick is to turn the handle at a consistent low speed. You may be surprised just how much leaf and effort is involved to produce a relatively small amount of well-milled powder, and gain a new appreciation for the finished product in the process.

A vivid green produced by meticulous work

This experience also features the opportunity to sample cold-brewed tea for an appreciation of just how much brewing temperature influences the flavor. Low temperature extraction results in less bitterness and astringency, allowing more of the underlying notes of the tea to come through. Try this with both tencha leaves and matcha powder and discover the different textures and flavors. 

Cold-brewed matcha, featuring a concentrated flavor highly reminiscent of dashi soup

The Delight of Kimura’s Signature Matcha Confections

Next, delight in matcha-based confections from Shinsuke Kimura, a top-ranked wine sommelier and confectioner fixated on the complexity of Uji’s organic matcha. Kimura tirelessly experiments with matcha confectionery using his refined palate, nose, and analytical perception to bring out the best in the tea. “Mr. Hatakeyama’s matcha,” he explains, “is a single-source, hand-picked, organic Uji matcha, which is an extremely rare and confluence of features. Wine lovers might think of it as the Romanée-Conti of matcha. Its unique palate and bouquet make for an instantly captivating charm, and I try to convey that in confectionery form.”

Kimura, who imbues his sweets with the innate charms of organic Uji matcha

Start by tasting five fully plant-based chocolates, each made with a different variety of matcha. Kimura is so particular about every ingredient pairing perfectly with the matcha and bringing out its best that he developed his own original chocolate recipe which uniquely incorporates rice into the mix. Discover five different types of matcha encased in five leaf-shape chocolate confections for a delicate tasting comparison, all made with natural ingredients balanced to bring out the undiluted flavors of the elements themselves, for a rich real palate that is truly tea.

Matcha chocolate, an entirely plant-based masterpiece

Next, watch as another matcha chocolate confection is shaved on a chocolate shaver reminiscent of the stone matcha mills you just used to be served with matcha ice cream and fresh terrine. Kimura’s unparalleled combination of sommelier sense and confectioner know-how results in organic matcha sweets that truly capture the joy of matcha itself in confectionery form like you’ll find nowhere else.

Matcha chocolate that brings out the best of the tea’s flavors

Luxuriate in a blissful moment of matcha sweets prepared fresh right before your eyes by Kimura, as you learn more about tea leaves through his talk.

A One-of-a-kind Tearoom Experience

At the end of it all, sit down to a cup of fresh matcha brewed by Hatakeyama in the second floor tearoom. Here you can taste the highest quality organic matcha that Kane7 has to offer, and appreciate its vivid green that pleases the eyes just as much as it whets the palate.

A highlight of this experience is the chance to witness ceremonial tea preparation up close

Many tend to expect a bitter or astringent flavor from matcha, but this is a cup that may completely overturn your assumptions of what matcha can be, with its subtle sweetness and rich bouquet. Relax, savor it, and let yourself be carried away by the charm of top-grade organic matcha brimming with the passionate dedication and meticulous skill of its cultivator.

The endless joy of mellow, mouthwatering matcha

This experience is a chance to learn all about world-class, top-quality organic matcha, and not only learn all about how it is produced but also appreciate it with all five senses. Discover a brand new charm to matcha in Kane7’s tearoom by relaxing and steeping yourself in lavish elegance, sip by sip.



Kane7 Hatakeyama Seicha / TREEE’S KYOTO

Kane7 Hatakeyama Seicha
A storied producer and wholesaler of Uji tea since 1751, specializing in top grade organic matcha. Kane7 strives to connect the joys of Uji matcha and Japanese tea culture to the wider world, and is acclaimed within Japan and around the world, including taking the grand prize at the Japanese Tea Selection Paris.

TREEE’S KYOTO
A purveyor of high grade sweets made using matcha from carefully selected organic leaves. Proprietor Shinsuke Kimura, a top-ranked wine sommelier, uses his unparalleled palate and unique techniques to craft sweets that bring out the best of the matcha. In his role as matcha chocolatier, Kimura’s work also includes handling mail-order sales and events.

Location

KANE7 Matcha Lab
Fushimi Ward, Kyoto

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January 2025

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Additional Options

  • If you would like to have professional photos taken, please select the option below and review the details carefully before booking.

    Commemorative photo / group

    JPY 28,600

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Experience fee

Minimum fee JPY 101000 × 2 participants

JPY 202,000

*Minimum: 2 participants; JPY 101,000 × 2 will be charged for bookings below the minimum.

Price may change after date is selected.

Additional options fee

Interpretation in English

JPY 0

Other

Service fee (5%)

JPY 10,100

Total Price

JPY 212,100

tax & service fee incl.

Extra charges may apply for the following

  • ・Interpretation / Dependant on experience schedule and language
  • ・Optional add-ons / Souvenirs, delivery, etc.
While your booking is being processed, a temporary authorization hold will be placed on your credit card. Charges occur upon confirmed reservation.

Kyoto

120mins

from ¥101,000 /person

Private event

1 - 8 participants

Available in English

Cancel free up to 6 days prior

* If fewer than 2 participants, the minimum fee will be JPY 202,000

Things to know

Contact Us

If you have any questions, please contact us using the form below.
We also accept bookings from corporate clients and travel agencies.