Uji Matcha Rikou

Ceremonial, Made for Every Day

The Uji Foundation

Rikou begins in Uji's Yamashiro basin, where well-drained soils, sloping fields, and mist from the Uji and Kizu rivers shape the conditions for tea cultivation.

The landscape is matched by generations of accumulated skill. Cultivation, steaming, tencha drying, finishing, and blending are handled by producers and tea makers working within the tradition of Uji tea.

Until the final milling stage, Rikou shares Kirica's producer and tencha-making process. The distinction comes at the finish. Kirica continues through slow stone milling and is positioned for considered preparation and professional service. Rikou follows a different milling process and takes a more flexible place in everyday life.

The Furnace Before the Finish

After steaming, Rikou's leaves are left unrolled and dried as tencha in a brick-lined furnace. The brickwork holds heat and releases it gradually, while hot air removes moisture through to the center of the leaf.

This controlled drying establishes color, aroma, and a clean foundation before the final milling process. Rikou shares this tencha-making stage with Kirica; its more flexible daily role is defined later, through its final milling and the blend's composition for water and milk.

A Ceremonial Matcha for Daily Life

Built around Yabukita, Rikou has a clear bitterness, natural sweetness, and vivid green color. Several tencha lots are composed together so that its balance remains steady from one batch to the next.

Whisked with water, it is direct and smooth. With milk, its matcha character remains present. It carries ceremonial quality into the moments that repeat: a bowl in the morning, a pause in the afternoon, or a latte prepared without formality.

The quality remains. Only the occasion changes.