In May we head to Uji (宇治), the historic centre of Japanese tea, for a Matcha-iri Sencha (抹茶入り煎茶) from Horii Shichimeien (堀井七茗園). It is a tea built from a first-flush Uji matcha ground on a stone mill, and a Sencha chosen by the same garden master to match it.

Byōdō-in Phoenix Hall, Uji by 663highland, used under CC BY 2.5 (cropped from original).

Matcha-iri Sencha, a Cup with Two Greens

Matcha-iri Sencha is a Sencha with a small amount of finely ground matcha mixed in. The two teas come from very different processes. Sencha begins with leaves grown in full sunlight, then steamed, rolled and dried into needle-shaped leaves. Matcha comes from Tencha (碾茶), leaves grown for weeks under shade, steamed and dried flat without rolling, and finally ground into a fine powder on a stone mill.

Photo by courtesy of the tea producer: Horii Shichimeien.

When the two are brought together in a teapot, the cup picks up the strengths of both. The Sencha gives structure, a clear leafy aroma, a touch of refreshing astringency. The matcha gives colour, body and that creamy, deeply vegetal umami that only powdered tea can offer. The liquor turns a vivid, opaque green, and the texture in the mouth is fuller than that of a Sencha drunk alone.

The matcha used in our May tea is made exclusively from first-flush Tencha grown in Uji, stone-ground at the producer's mill. The Sencha was chosen by the garden master to fit it: lively enough to balance the matcha without overpowering it.

The Machine That Changed Uji

Horii Shichimeien was founded in 1879 (Meiji 12) and still tends the Okunoyama (奥ノ山) tea garden, the last surviving plot of the seven famous Uji gardens designated by the Ashikaga shogunate in the Muromachi era. The most striking chapter of the family's history, though, is more recent, and concerns the third-generation owner, Horii Chōjirō (堀井長次郎).

Matcha stone mill grinding Tencha into powder by Derjochenmeyer, used under CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped from original).

In the early twentieth century, all Tencha was still finished by hand. The flat, fragile leaves had to be dried slowly on heated paper trays, attended by experienced workers for hours at a time. The process worked but was painfully slow, and it set a hard ceiling on how much matcha Uji could ever produce. Chōjirō spent years trying to mechanise it: he wanted a machine that would dry the leaves without crushing them, preserving their colour and aroma.

In 1924 (Taishō 13) he succeeded. The "Horii Tencha Drying Machine" worked, and worked well. It would have been straightforward to keep the invention to himself: a patent, a license, an exclusive supply of mechanised matcha for one family business. He chose the opposite path. Chōjirō shared the design freely with the other tea makers of Uji, explaining the mechanism and helping them install their own machines.

Every Tencha drying machine used in Japan today, including the one humming in Horii Shichimeien's own workshop, is a descendant of that 1924 design. Uji's Tencha output multiplied in the years that followed, the price of matcha fell, and it became affordable to ship abroad.

Tencha on a traditional stone mill in Uji by Derjochenmeyer, used under CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped from original).

Brewing Matcha-iri Sencha

Matcha-iri Sencha responds well to a slightly lower temperature than a plain Sencha, to keep the powdered matcha from turning bitter:

• Tea leaves: 7g (about 1½ tablespoons)
• Water: 100ml per serving
• Temperature: 60 to 80°C
• Steeping time: 30 to 60 seconds

Pour the water gently onto the leaves, swirl the pot once to mix in the matcha, then serve through a fine strainer. The first cup will be the most vivid, with a thick coat of green and a strong umami. A second infusion is well worth pouring: use slightly hotter water and a shorter steep, and you will find a lighter, leafier cup behind the matcha.

For warm spring evenings, try it cold-brewed. Place the leaves in cold water for two to three hours, then shake the pitcher gently before serving: the matcha will lift into suspension and give you a strikingly green iced tea.

Enjoy!