Premium Matcha Brands

Ippodo Tea has been crafting premium matcha in Kyoto since 1717, making them one of Japan's most respected tea houses. Their ceremonial-grade matcha is highly sought after by tea enthusiasts worldwide, with grades ranging from everyday usucha to premium koicha varieties.

Marukyu Koyamaen is a historic Uji tea producer established in 1704, renowned for their exceptional ceremonial matcha. As purveyors to major tea ceremony schools, their matcha represents the pinnacle of Japanese tea craftsmanship.

Yamamasa Koyamaen continues the tradition of Uji matcha production with meticulous attention to quality. Their matcha is cultivated using traditional methods, resulting in vibrant color and rich umami flavor.

Kanbayashi Shunsho is one of the oldest tea houses in Japan, with a legacy spanning centuries. Their matcha is prized for its exceptional quality and is used in prestigious tea ceremonies.

Horii Shichimeien produces authentic Uji matcha with a focus on traditional methods and quality. Their teas are cultivated in the renowned Uji region, known for producing Japan's finest matcha.

Kyoto Hayashiya Matcha offers a range of premium matcha products from Kyoto, including both ceremonial and culinary grades. Their commitment to quality ensures authentic Japanese matcha experience.

Hoshino Seichaen is a tea producer in Hoshino Village, Yame, Fukuoka, founded in 1946. In 1989 it built Kyushu's first full-scale tencha factory, with 50 stone mills, and it grows its matcha leaf with the shading methods behind its award-winning gyokuro. Its eight 20 g matcha grades run from Yame-no-Hana (¥1,080) to the koicha Hoju (¥4,320), including tax, on prices revised in July 2026.

Fukujuen is a Kyoto tea company established in 1790 (Kansei 2) by Iyemon Fukui, first as a tea merchant in Kamikoma, now part of Kizugawa City. Today it makes Japanese green teas including matcha, gyokuro and sencha, and sells matcha worldwide from its global online store, shipped directly from Japan.

Hekisuen, also written Hekisuien, is a tea company in Jōyō City, Kyoto, in the Uji tea region, founded in 1867 by Kihei Horii according to Sazen Tea's producer page. It is known for stone-milled matcha and for the trademark "Tengu no Uji-cha". Outside Japan it is sold mainly through importing retailers.

Hokoen is a tea producer in Jōyō City, Kyoto Prefecture, that Sazen Tea describes as long-established, with more than 160 years of history and hands-on oversight of growing, harvesting, blending and finishing. Outside Japan its matcha is sold through importing retailers, in a small range of koicha and usucha grades.

Yugen Kyoto is an independent Japanese tea shop that opened in 2018 in a renovated building near the Kyoto Imperial Palace. It sells its own blended Uji matcha in four numbered grades, #0 to #3, plus a limited single-origin Tsujiki Goko, and ships internationally from its own site. It is not affiliated with Marukyu Koyamaen's "Yugen" matcha grade.

Rocky's Matcha is a US-based curated matcha brand founded by Rocky Xu in 2022. It sources single-origin and blended matcha from producers across Uji, Yame, Kagoshima and Shizuoka rather than growing its own tea, and sells through its own store, pop-up tea houses in Los Angeles, Miami and Tokyo, and retailers.

Senchado, trading as Senchado Tokyo Global, is a Japanese tea retailer based in Ginza, Tokyo, that sells matcha, sencha, gyokuro, hojicha and teaware and ships globally. Its matcha range includes single-origin Okumidori, Ujihikari and organic matcha in 30 g cans.

Uogashi Meicha is a Tokyo tea company founded in 1931 by Tadashi Tsuchiya, with its main store in Tsukiji and further stores in Ginza, Toyosu and Shinjuku. It specialises in deep-steamed Japanese green tea, grows tea on its own plantation, and sells a small range of matcha on its tea shop.

Nakamura Tokichi is an Uji tea house founded in 1854, when its founder Tokichi became a tea merchant and opened a shop on the site the main store still occupies. It presented tea at the enthronement ceremonies of the Taisho and Showa emperors. Today it sells about twenty matcha products through its own global store, from Ukishima-no-Shiro usucha to the Premium Hatsu-Mukashi koicha tins.

Hatoya is a Japanese tea stand founded by former barista Nobuhiro Maruyama, who opened the first shop, Hatoya Ryoyosha, in Arashiyama, Kyoto in 2019. A branch in Asakusa, Tokyo, opened in January 2023 and went viral for its hand-whisked matcha latte made with Hokkaido milk. It sells matcha powders internationally through its own store.

Aoi Seicha is a premier matcha producer based in Nishio, Aichi Prefecture—a region responsible for over 20% of Japan's total matcha production and renowned for producing some of the country's highest quality ceremonial-grade matcha. Specializing in authentic Nishio matcha, Aoi Seicha benefits from the region's ideal climate, fertile soil, and centuries of tea-growing expertise. Their signature Yaeyama ceremonial-grade matcha is cultivated using traditional shade-growing techniques, hand-picked at peak freshness, and stone-ground to achieve ultra-fine texture and maximum flavor preservation. Aoi Seicha's matcha features the characteristic Nishio profile: brilliant jade-green color, rich umami complexity, natural sweetness, and creamy mouthfeel with virtually no bitterness. Their commitment to sustainable farming and quality craftsmanship makes them a favorite among serious matcha practitioners.