Back in July this year, right after the heat and the festive mood of Gion festival is at its peak in Kyoto, we have launched our new original Kurasu Matcha Blend, as an answer to the praise and the love call for high quality matcha we've been receiving over the years.
Available with and without sugar, the new blend offers you more flamboyant, sweeter, less acidic and less astringent cup.
The new original blend is ceremonial grade, still comes exclusively from Kyoto, in collaboration with our beloved YUGEN.
Why blend?
Better, More Stable Supply
OKUMIDORI, the previous matcha we had (still available online) is a single origin, single variety tea. While we see value in it, just like we do in our single origin coffee, its nature of being a single variety has affected the stability of the supply.
Along with to the ever growing popularity of our matcha product, the unstable OKUMIDORI supply had led us to having to disappoint our customers time to time, lacking stock for a significant period of time- as some may know.
By creating this blend, we can not only ensure the stable supply to keep all the matcha drinker around the world well-stocked, but also get the best possible harmony of taste that's available throughout the year.
What's in the blend?
The tea blended for Kurasu Original Blend are all ceremonial grade, and farmed sorely in Kyoto.
It is a blend of Okumidori, Samidori, and Yabukita with other teas like Sae Akari, Sayama Kaori, Hoshun, Sae Midori (the ratio/blend may change), whereas OKUMIDORI is a 100% Okumidori nicha.
By blending several amazing tea varieties, each element brings sweetness, umami and flavor into the blend, resulting in the final cup with a lot more complexity in aroma and richness in taste.
How does it taste compared to OKUMIDORI?
OKUMIDORI: In terms of taste/aroma, OKUMIDORI has its distinctive darker color, and the aroma is that of Okumidori. Since we use nicha (tea leaves picked on the second picking round of the season), it has some acidity and astringency typical of nicha.
Our New Blend: The new blend on the other hand, green color is less intense, but the aroma is more flamboyant and tastes sweeter, less acidic and less astringent. The taste of matcha shines through milk or coffee better than Okumidori alone, and the aroma and the flavor of matcha can be felt until the last sip of a latte.
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As mentioned above, OKUMIDORI will still be available, albeit the supply may fluctuate. If you prefer to use matcha on its own or prefer the single origin nature of it, we recommend continue using OKUMIDORI.
For latte and other drink, we can confidently say our new original blend will be an improvement.
Master the Art of Matcha: Our Recipe
The matcha journey we have been having the past years both with our customers and the wholesalers (cafes and restaurants) around the world has been truly amazing, and we always love sharing the recipes and the best way we find to enjoy this beautiful flavor of Kyoto.
At our cafe, after several tasting session we have decided upon the same ratio for our syrup we use for OKUMIDORI, which is powder: hot water 1:1.
We also recently changed our matcha latte + espresso recipe to add 2 shots instead of 1, so that our customers can enjoy the coffee more intensely. Even with more coffee, our new blend expresses the matcha's characteristics very well in the drink.
Check out our latest matcha recipe and join us for the delicious adventure of matcha today!
