Mizuba Tea Co.
Uji Hikari, Single Cultivar Matcha
reviewed January 2021
Mizuba Uji Hikari Review
Mizuba: Mizuba Tea Co. is an organic company in Portland, Oregon, founded by Lauren Danson in 2013. Along with several matcha bends, it offers a wide tea selection and tea tools.
Uji Hikari: As described by MyJapaneseTea Uji Hikari was cultivated “in 1954 by the Kyoto Prefecture Tea Industry Research Institute”. When shade grown, the cultivar is known for creating a marine scent. The leaves have a unique wave shape pattern as well. Uji Hikari Matcha is known for a savory, or umami rich, flavor profile. It is rarely sold on it’s own and is often used in combination with other high-grade cultivars.
Price: In January 2021, this blend costs $60 USD.
Smell: A rich and earthy fragrance with notes of kelp and moss. I just wanted to dive into the container.
Color: The powder color was a vibrant light green. The liquor color (tea liquid) was grassy green with lime colored foam. The colors indicate good quality powder and freshness. Slight points lost due to the lightness in powder color. Points 4.75
Foam + Mouth Feel: The foam was easy to form, but created bubbles with a lot of variation, including some larger bubbles. The texture was thick, smooth, brothy, and had a long finish. Points reduced for bubble imperfection. Points 4.
Taste: An incredibly umami rich matcha as if you are drinking liquid nori snacks. It was naturally creamy with a honey sweetness. There was virtually no bitterness, some astringency, and nice asparagus vegetal notes. There were some roasted notes that reminded me of jasmine tea. The flavor was intense and deep. Although this may not be everyones favorite flavor, I couldn’t think of any imperfections. Points 5.
Final Score: 4.6 out of 5 points
Thoughts: AMAZING! This blend is being added to my favorites list, and is one I would recommend to any matcha obsessive. The sweet and balanced flavor makes this product excellent for koicha matcha, which I find is rare among the many matcha products on the market. As much as I love this blend, I also can see how it may be too oceanic for beginner matcha pallets.
Here is an excerpt from Mizuba’s website that explains all the reasons why this is such an incredible blend:
“Having won countless awards in Japan for his teas, 5th-generation master farmer Tsuji san is responsible for one of the greatest matcha experiences you can savor. His tea plants are unpruned, only cultivated with organic fertilizers, and enjoy the most traditional form of shade-growing (the Honzu technique) in the region's nutritious red clay soil. When the first flush arrives in shincha season (the first crop of the year), the tencha tea leaves are gently harvested by hand and stone-milled to perfection. In fact, Tsuji-san's matcha has the highest concentrations of L-theanine and amino acids ever recorded of any matcha in the world.”
