Organic Usucha Matcha

Usucha, the thin preparation of matcha, offers lightness and movement.
Where koicha invites depth and introspection, usucha allows for openness — a bowl that can accompany daily rhythm while still carrying the refinement of ceremony.

Mine no Matsu — “The Pine on the Ridge” is an organic, single-origin matcha grown in Wazuka, Kyoto, in a tea garden situated at approximately 500 meters above sea level — the highest elevation for tea cultivation in the region. The garden was once known for a solitary pine tree standing at its center. Though the tree has since fallen, its memory remains woven into the identity of the place.

The new name preserves the sentiment of the original while acknowledging the landscape itself — the ridge, the altitude, the quiet endurance of mountain air and soil.

Accompanying this tea is a poem by Tsurayuki:

まつをのみときはとおもへば
よとゝもにながるゝ水もみどりなりけり

When one believes only the pine remains eternally green,
one suddenly notices that even the flowing water, reflecting it, is green as well.

The pine is often a symbol of longevity and strength, yet the poem gently shifts attention outward — reminding us that life is not held by a single form alone, but also by the surroundings that echo and sustain it. This widening of awareness is a lesson found equally in poetry, in nature, and in the gestures of preparing tea.

In this way, Mine no Matsu is not only a name, but an orientation: to appreciate what stands firmly before us, while remaining attentive to the subtle movements that give it meaning.