weston
Member since June 2026
Daily usucha drinker and incurable value hunter. I chase brighter, grassier matcha and lesser-known growing regions outside Uji. Always running the cost-per-bowl math.
Shizuoka Saeakari: Sweet and Soft, But Pricey for What It Is
Saeakari is a cultivar I hadn't experienced much before this tin from Rocky's. At 2.2g in 3oz at 176F, this one leans noticeably sweet with a gentle, well-balanced finish. Umami is there, though it's soft rather than savory, and the bitterness is basically absent, which will suit a lot of people but leaves me wanting a little more edge. Honestly the flavor profile here is pleasant and approachable, maybe even a bit plain for my taste, and at $1.40 per gram that's a tough ask for a daily. If you're after a gentle, sweet ceremonial that's easy to drink and happens to come from outside Uji orbit, Saeakari is worth a try, but I'd want to see this closer to a dollar per gram if I were to buy more.
Shiga Okumidori, exactly what I look for
This is the kind of listing that gets me every time. Single-cultivar Okumidori grown in Tsuchiyama in Shiga instead of the usual Uji suspects, made by a level-9 chashi at a house that's been at it since the 1800s. It's legit. Nutty and herbaceous with a quiet fruit note, and that long finish Kettl promises is no joke, it sits on the back of the palate well after you swallow. I go light, about 2g in 3oz, partly to stretch a 20g tin and partly because it has enough going on that it doesn't need to be so concentrated. The only catch is price. At $1.90 a gram this is a treat tin, not a daily sipper, and I can name cheaper teas that get me 80 percent of the way there. But you're paying for terroir you can't get anywhere else, and once in a while that's worth it to me.
The daily driver math, solved
Horii labels this culinary grade and prices it like it, but whisked straight it drinks well above that. Yes it leans grassy and there's an astringent bite as usucha, but I like a little edge and this is the good kind, more fresh-cut vegetal snap than anything harsh. Underneath there's a soft vanilla and toasted-nut thing on the finish you don't expect at this tier. I used 2.5g powder and a touch hotter water than most people, around 178F, and it holds up fine. Here's the part I care about: at roughly seventy cents a gram, from a Uji house with Horii's name on it, this is the everyday tin I reach for without thinking about cost. It also turns into a great latte if that's your thing. I'll be over here drinking it twice a day.