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History. Ujido was born out of almost 200 years of matcha cultivation: growing the perfect tea leaves, running a family tea shop, and now bringing that heritage to you. 

Our tea leaves are traditionally grown in Japan, the birthplace of matcha. We’re not chasing a trend. We are the trend. That is Ujido.

Every leaf comes from Japan. We never mix inferior matcha into our products from India or China. We only use the highest quality tea leaves cultivated at family farms around the southern hills of Kyoto, Japan where matcha began.

Family connections. As a traditional Japanese tea grower and manufacturer in Uji, Kyoto, Japan for almost 200 years, we directly import to the US and sell to you. Without middlemen or other companies involved, we can keep our prices competitive while keeping our quality higher than most.

Yes. All our matchas are low on the glycemic index without any added sugar and can be combined with good fats in the best ways. Even our Sweet Matcha is sweetened with monk fruit and erythritol, a sugar alcohol that doesn’t absorb like sugar and doesn’t count toward your net carbs. It is safe for diabetics, people doing keto, and those watching sugar for any reason. 

Our Sweet Matcha is sweetened with monk fruit and erythritol. Erythritol is a sugar alcohol that is counted as a carbohydrate on packaging, even though it is not treated like one by the body. It tastes sweet, but doesn’t spike blood sugar because it isn’t absorbed during digestion, so it does not count toward your net carbs. Enjoy the sweetness without the worry.

Yes. Matcha is simply stone ground tea leaves and does not contain any wheat or other sources of gluten. It is also not processed in facilities that contain gluten or other allergens.

Many people use it specifically for that reason. Green tea increases metabolism and mental focus while relaxing the body and calming cravings. With naturally occurring caffeine, beneficial antioxidants, detoxifying chlorophyll, matcha is a great way to help you maintain your weight without a ton of stimulants or unnatural ingredients.

Organic and Japan are fairly new to one another. We are working on perfecting our organic offerings and adding more.

It all comes down to fertilizers, not pesticides.

Despite the benefits of organic products in many countries, matcha isn’t necessarily improved by going organic. Matcha tea leaves are grown in shaded tea gardens so the plants produce the greenest, sweetest, tenderest leaves full of chlorophyll, amino acids (L-Theanine), and healthy catechins. With less energy from the sun and an early spring harvest, matcha tea plants require a small amount of powerful fertilizers, most of which haven’t been certified organic in Japan just yet.

Comparing color and flavor, organic matcha is a less vibrant green and less sweet. Organic fertilizers take months to give the plants the energy and nutrition needed to develop, meaning the leaves are harvested at a time when they are less tender, less green, less nutritious, and less sweet. So what does that mean as far as safety? You have no reason to worry. Japan cares deeply about tea.

Our farmers start the year off using organic fertilizers, and then sprinkle in a small amount of non-organic fertilizer at the crucial moment just before spring harvest. Japan also strictly regulates what types of pesticides can be used, how much can be used, and when they can be used. Farmers are bound by strict regulations to record what pesticides they use and when, submitting reports to the authorities. Tea leaves are then tested for chemical residue, and not allowed to enter the market if they go even slightly above Japan’s stringent safety standards.

Matcha is harvested several times, and each harvest results in different flavors and colors.

The highest quality tea leaves are only the smallest, youngest, and greenest parts of the plant harvested in early spring. The two leaves at the tip of each new shoot are hand-picked. They contain a flavor that is more than sweet, a distinctive complex taste unique to this harvest that’s full-bodied, rich, and mature, never chalky, bitter, or bland. This top quality first harvest matcha is used in the traditional Japanese tea ceremony that appreciates the delicate full flavor in pure hot water without any additions.

A second harvest occurs in summer, with special care to still select the brightest green tea leaves that have a naturally sweet flavor and high nutrition, but the color is less vibrant and the leaves slightly more bitter than the first, ceremonial harvest. These summer tea leaves are used for culinary purposes: in baking, smoothies, lattes, and many other recipes. Many even use it like a spice.

Culinary Grade Matcha is less expensive than Ceremonial Grade Matcha, making it easier to enjoy more often. Our Ceremonial Blend is your best of both, combining spring and summer harvested leaves for a delicious matcha that can be used in any way you can imagine at a reasonable price.

Premium Ceremonial Matcha – The youngest, greenest tea leaves from 1st harvest (Highest Ceremonial Grade)

Ceremonial Matcha – 1st  harvest tea leaves (Ceremonial Grade)

Ceremonial Blend Matcha – A blend of 1st and 2nd harvest tea leaves (80% Ceremonial Grade + 20% Highest Culinary Grade)

Sweet Matcha Latte – Same as Ceremonial Blend, a mix of both 1st and 2nd harvest (80% Ceremonial Grade + 20% Highest Culinary Grade)

Matcha Energy – 2nd harvest tea leaves (Highest Culinary Grade)

Matcha Collagen – 2nd harvest tea leaves (Highest Culinary Grade)

Summer Harvest Matcha – 2nd harvest tea leaves (Highest Culinary Grade)

Smoothie Booster Matcha – 2nd and 3rd harvest tea leaves (Culinary Grade)

Roasted Matcha – 2nd and 3rd harvest leaves (Culinary Grade) but roasted for mellow smoky and sweet notes closer to a ceremonial flavor

That’s up to you, but we’ll try to help. 

Ceremonial Matcha can be enjoyed simply in hot water. It is handpicked during an early spring harvest of the tenderest tea leaves for a naturally sweet, full flavor. This makes it more expensive. In Japan, this tea is enjoyed on special occasions. We also have a premium version available where the leaves are hand selected for quality before grinding.

Ceremonial Blend is a mix of 80% ceremonial and 20% high culinary matcha. It makes the best lattes and is a best seller because of its versatility, natural sweetness, and refreshing flavor. This is your daily matcha. 

Summer Harvest Matcha is the highest culinary grade matcha from an early summer harvest when the tea leaves are slightly less sweet. This also makes it less expensive and easier to use more often, while still close to our Ceremonial Blend flavor. This is your matcha for low cost lattes, baking, using as a spice when cooking, sprinkled over ice cream and desserts, or blended into beverages with other ingredients.

Smoothie Booster Matcha is a late summer harvest culinary grade matcha. These tea leaves are packed with a full season of nutrition, but have taken on a more bitter flavor not favorable for teas or lattes. Energize a smoothie or use it in baking and cooking.

Sweet Matcha Latte is the same matcha mix in our Ceremonial Blend but blended with natural sweeteners. It makes an instant latte when added to any milk. It is delicious and sweet with zero net carbs for all those keto or low carb people out there. 

Matcha Energy is our matcha with B vitamins and lightly sweetened with monk fruit. It comes in ready to mix packets and easily mixed with water and other beverages. Use it as a daily boost, a pre-workout, an afternoon lift, focus enhancer, metabolic booster and calorie burner for weight management, or to bolster the immune system on long flights or during cold and flu season.

Matcha Collagen is our matcha combined with collagen and natural stevia for a low carb matcha latte with the bonus of collagen for hair, skin, nails, muscle, and connective tissue.

Roasted Matcha (Houjicha) is our summer matcha that has been roasted for a darker, richer flavor that makes it perfect for morning beverages, smoky lattes, afternoon pick-me-ups, baking, and cooking.

Spoon 2 grams of matcha into a cup or matcha bowl. Add a few ounces hot water, just under a boil. Whisk vigorously in a zig zag motion until frothy. You can drink it as is or add more hot water for a thinner tea. Add a sweetener if desired. Enjoy.

Just between ¼ and ½ teaspoon. A heaping ¼ teaspoon is about right.

Matcha is sensitive to heat, humidity, and light. It can also absorb flavors and odors from other foods. We recommend keeping it refrigerated after opening the bag, sealing it firmly to lock out air. For extra freshness, let it warm up to room temperature before opening to avoid condensation.

We recommend customers consume below 1 to 2 teaspoons (about 9 to 10 grams) of matcha daily. This stays within the lower recommended caffeine limit of 200mg per day. That is one to four matcha lattes a day.

Ujido's Ceremonial Blend is 80% 1st harvest ceremonial grade mixed into 20% 2nd harvest culinary grade. That's the same matcha found in our Ceremonial tins combined with a small amount of the highest quality culinary available anywhere, our Summer Harvest matcha.

Why do we do this? First of all, it lowers the cost for you while still delivering an exceptional matcha powder. Second, it is the perfect mix for lattes. Ceremonial grade is mellow, created to be used in the Japanese tea ceremony in water alone. Culinary grade is more potent, flavorful, and rich, designed to shine through pastries and desserts.

A dash of culinary makes our matcha flavorful enough to stand out in a latte, while still dominated by the soft, sweet, umami flavor of ceremonial. What you find in most big coffee shops is a late summer harvest (4th harvest or later) that is too strong to be used in beverages, but they do it anyway, loading it with sugar and fats to counteract the bitter.

You don't have to oversweeten Ceremonial Blend or bury it in extra milk.

There are roughly 30-45mg of caffeine in each 2g serving of our matcha.

We'd love to give you a firmer answer than that, but nature doesn't work that way. It depends on growing season, which harvest it comes from, the age of each individual tea plant, nutrient mix in the soil, how hot the water you use, and a dozen other factors.

The L-Theanine offsets the caffeine to some degree by calming the nervous system, so jitters are rare. If you want less caffeine, try our Roasted Matcha (Hojicha) as roasting lowers the amount of caffeine per serving by roughly half (15-23mg).

There are 198mg of catechins per 2 gram serving size.

Zero calories

Zero glycemic index

Zero impact on blood sugar or insulin

Zero bitter or chemical aftertaste

Zero GMO’s, additives, or artificial flavors

Natural and safe for people with diabetes

Perfect for low carb or keto

There are only 480 micro grams (0.48 milligrams) in each 2g serving of our matcha.

We have done an analysis of heavy metals at a third party laboratory. They were either undetectable or extremely low across the board.

Arsenic: Not detected.
Lead: 0.20 ppm
Cadmium: 0.03 ppm
Mercury: Not detected

We have tested our Matcha and confirmed it is radiation free. All of our matcha is grown in the same area of Uji, Kyoto, Japan, which is more than 540km (335 miles) away from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

In China, green tea is not grown under shade nor dried by steam to stop fermentation, which means it is not truly matcha. Japan also strictly regulates residual pesticides and contaminants to ensure purity and quality, where China does not.

When stored unopened in a cool place, or refrigerated, matcha can last for very long periods, often well past the best by date. We print this date for our retail stores to match their rotation guidelines. After the best by date, matcha will decrease in nutritional value and potency.