Kimberley's Kyusu

This Matcha Monday, I want to introduce you all to a tea company by the name of Haru Matcha, a company I have never written about on my blog, that was started by co-founders Nicha and Francis not only because they love matcha, but because they believed that there was so much to be learned about its origin, cultivation, history and philosophy.

Their aim is to showcase the nuance and flavour of matcha in every pouch they release, with every pouch being from a different region & showcasing many different cultivars. Haru Matcha are also based in the UK, which is of course a huge benefit to all of the matcha lovers here that may find it hard to source quality matcha directly from Japan & want to try and avoid insane shipping / customs charges in the world of ever changing tariffs.

I was kindly given the opportunity to try their Hana blend, which is a high-grade matcha picked from the virgin leaves of shade-grown tea trees during the first harvest of spring. It is stone-milled using traditional methods in Uji, Kyoto, with the cultivars included within the Hana blend being Uji-Hikari, Gokou (my favourite) and Samidori. 

For my first session with this tea, my water temperature was 60° & I chose to prepare it as Usucha. The dry powder is a mid toned green in colour, with a milky sweet & soft floral aroma that has notes of creamed greens, creamy rice pudding, white chocolate and creamy caramel. With the addition of water, stronger vegetal notes emerged, blending very well with the aforementioned notes within the aroma of the dry powder. 

In taste this matcha is floral, delicate & sweet, & while initially there is bitterness present, it dissipates quickly and leaves a nice freshness behind. When prepared with water at a slightly higher temperature, an initial note of mint appears and while it dissipates, it leaves in its place a delightful cooling effect that sticks around on the tongue for a while, however once it dissipates that creaminess & delicate florality of cherry blossom slowly appear.

A vegetal bite is still present, but similarly to the bowl prepared with cooler water, it dissipates quickly leaving behind a nice freshness. The vegetal note remains present but calmer, working well with the other aspects of the flavour profile. 

Additional notes discovered across many sessions include: creamed greens, creamy rice pudding, white chocolate, creamy caramel, preserved sakura and freshly steamed short grain rice.

Texturally this matcha is smooth, refreshing and delicate, with no dryness and an initial bite of bitterness at the front of the tongue that does not stick around. There is a small amount of dryness present but it is so subtle that it did not hinder my enjoyment overall. The finish is long lasting with subtle lingering notes of caramel, cherry blossom and a soft rocky minerality. 

After experimenting with this matcha, I can conclude that it is best prepared as Usucha using water at a temperature of 55-60°. While I paired it with a myriad of sweet treats including lebkuchen, milk chocolate coated salted caramel almonds, mini peach oreos and alpine milk chocolate, I did find that it paired the best with treats that combined both sweetness and creaminess as both balanced out the vegetal bite, without overpowering the subtle notes. 

Overall I would say that Hara definitely made a great first impression on me with this matcha & I’m hopeful I’ll be able to try some of their other offerings in 2026 to see how they compare to this one. 

Art Pairing: Cherry Blossom & a Castle – Ito Yuhan (Woodblock Print) 

As soon as I took my first sips of this matcha, I knew the direction I had to go in with the art pairing. There was simply no option other than a woodblock print that was created by a Japanese artist that featured cherry blossoms, as I loved the soft note of cherry blossom that can be found alongside many other amazing notes within the flavour of this tea.

Of course there were other elements from the overall experience of this matcha I wanted to represent, such as the colour of the matcha, the rocky minerality, the fresh cooling effects and its smooth, refreshing delicate texture among many other options, but I had assumed that it may be hard to find one piece of art that would encapsulate everything. However, I was quickly proved wrong as soon as I came across Cherry Blossom & a Castle by Ito Yuhan mere minutes into my search, as it ticked every single box.

Not only are cherry blossoms a prominent feature, but there are varied shades of green present to represent the matcha in both its wet and dry form, as well as the strong presence of stone that sits at the base of the castle and stretches all the way down into the water that represents the rocky minerality present within the matcha, the soft brown tones of all the wood elements within the piece linking back to the notes of creamy caramel and the limited / soft use of black key lines creating a soft, delicate, almost dreamlike effect that brings harmony to the entire piece, and mirrors the textural experience of this matcha.

This piece truly draws you in and you can close your eyes and imagine yourself standing on the bridge as fresh air blows the sakura petals from the tree and refreshes you as it passes, which is exactly the way that the cooling / refreshing aspects of the overall experience of this matcha make me feel. There is other piece of art that could represent this matcha as well as this one does & I’m so happy the universe introduced me to this piece by Ito Yuhan at the perfect time, so I could bring the two together.  

If you want to try this matcha or any of Haru Matcha’s other offerings you can find them all over on the Haru Matcha website. 

Until next time, Happy Steeping – Kimberley