Harvested in spring from the first flush, Raku Paradise is from an organic garden in Uji where all of the plants are of the Okumidori cultivar.
Organic ceremonial-grade matcha is much harder to produce than non-organic ceremonial-grade matcha.
Organic fertilisers have often lacked the potency of non-organic fertilisers. The tea plants that are grown to make matcha are shaded in the last few weeks before the leaves are picked in order to increase the concentration of the amino acids in the leaves which give matcha its distinctive flavour. During this time, the tea plants need fertilisers to replenish the nutrients they are unable to produce while shaded from the sun. Without these nutrients, the plants are unable to produce enough amino acids in the leaves and organic matcha can therefore taste more bitter compared to non-organic matcha tea.
However, a small number of farmers (like the farmers who make our Raku Paradise matcha) are now developing improved organic fertilisers and utilising new technologies and organic pest control methods to produce organic ceremonial-grade matcha that rivals the best non-organic ceremonial-grade matcha.
Organic Japanese matcha doesn’t get much better than Raku Paradise.
