One of Uji's Oldest Names — and What That Actually Means
Marukyu Koyamaen was established during the Genroku era, around 1704, when founder Koyama Kyujiro began cultivating and processing tea in the Ogura district of Uji, Kyoto Prefecture. That makes it one of the oldest continuously operating tea businesses in Japan — over 320 years of production in the same region, under the same family name. Four generations in, the family expanded into tea sales. By the Meiji period, the eighth-generation head, Motojiro, had formalised what remains the company's operating principle today: 品質本位の茶づくり — quality above all in tea making. Not a marketing phrase. A refusal to license their name to products that no longer taste like theirs.
The credential that matters most for anyone serious about matcha: Marukyu Koyamaen is an official supplier to the Urasenke and Omotesenke iemoto families — the two most significant houses in Japanese tea ceremony. Beyond general supply, they produce a category called iemoto okonomino matcha (家元御好): blends mixed specifically to the taste preferences of individual grand masters, used in that school's formal practice and ceremonies. These are not standard retail products. They are made to specification for a living tea master. That relationship has existed for generations, and it shapes how Marukyu Koyamaen calibrates quality — their matcha must meet the standard of people whose profession is the precise evaluation of it.
At Japan's National Tea Competition, they have taken first place 22 times since 1962 — and notably withdrew from competition in years when they were appointed as judges, which is the kind of institutional integrity that tends to get overlooked in brand copy but is worth knowing.
Why Stone Milling Costs What It Costs
Marukyu Koyamaen operates their own ishiusu (石臼) facility, grinding tencha on granite stone mills. Each mill produces approximately 40 grams of matcha per hour. That is not a marketing figure used to evoke tradition — it is a real constraint. A single 30g tin of high-grade matcha therefore represents roughly 45 minutes of one stone's output. You cannot accelerate this without generating friction heat, which degrades aromatic compounds and alters flavour. Industrial hammer mills produce matcha in minutes; the particle size and thermal damage are different. Stone milling yields powder in the 5–10 micron range with intact volatile aromatics. The difference shows in the cup.
Before any stone is involved, the leaves undergo shade cultivation — the tana method, using rice straw or synthetic frames over the rows for 20 to 30 days before harvest. Shade suppresses photosynthesis, redirecting the plant's energy into theanine rather than catechins. The result is more umami, less bitterness, and higher chlorophyll concentration (hence the vivid green). After harvest, the leaves are steamed immediately to halt oxidation, dried, and then de-stemmed and de-veined to produce tencha — the raw material for matcha. Only the soft leaf tissue goes forward. Stems and veins are removed entirely; this is what separates tencha-based matcha from stone-milled sencha, which would retain them.
The EU Line: Soju, Meiju, Oju
The three blends that UNEARTHED carries — browse the full Marukyu Koyamaen collection — Soju, Meiju, and Oju — are part of a specific formulation series created for the European market, calibrated to meet EU pesticide residue standards, which are considerably stricter than Japan's domestic thresholds. They are not compromised products: they are Marukyu Koyamaen's answer to the question of how to deliver ceremonial-grade matcha to European customers without any of the compliance ambiguity that affects other imported teas. Each has very low to undetectable pesticide levels per EU Food Safety Authority benchmarks.
Soju (雙龍) — Daily Usucha
The kanji 雙龍 means "Twin Dragons" — a name with no particular mystique attached to it in terms of the tea itself, but it is the correct reading and worth knowing when you see it on the tin. Soju is Marukyu Koyamaen's entry point into their ceremonial line: a light, clean usucha blend with a slightly sweet finish, low bitterness, and good foam. It is deliberately forgiving — it tolerates a slightly lower water temperature and whisks easily. For anyone building a daily matcha practice, it performs consistently across a wide range of technique and water quality.
Brew at 1.5–2g to 60–80ml at around 80°C. For a matcha latte or cortado-style preparation, a 1:20 to 1:25 ratio delivers stable microfoam and enough flavour clarity to hold up against milk.
Meiju (明寿) — Mid-Tier, More Depth
明寿 reads as "bright longevity" — again, the name is secondary to what's in the bowl. Meiju sits a tier above Soju in terms of leaf quality and shading intensity. The profile shifts noticeably: rounder, sweeter, with denser umami and a silkier mouthfeel. Astringency is minimal. The finish is longer. You can detect the difference from Soju most clearly side by side in koicha: Meiju's texture holds better at lower dilutions, and the aromatic range expands — fresh cream notes, steamed greens, a trace of something close to white rice. The foam it produces is finer.
For usucha, 2g to 60–70ml at 78–80°C. For light koicha, 3–4g to 30–40ml at 75–78°C. Meiju is capable at both; if you're preparing for guests and want something that holds its own in silence, this is the practical choice.
Oju (欧寿) — Premium, EU-Named
The naming here is explicit: 欧 (ou) means Europe; 寿 (ju) means longevity or celebration. The name announces its purpose — this was formulated specifically for the European market, and it is the highest grade in the EU line. The profile reflects it: concentrated umami, essentially no harshness, a long and complex finish. Aromatic layers include sweet nutty notes and a faint white flower quality that emerges as the bowl cools slightly. In koicha, it produces a texture that is heavy and smooth without being cloying — the kind of thing that makes you understand why the tea ceremony developed around this preparation style rather than thin tea.
For koicha: 4g to 30ml at 75–78°C, added in two or three doses and kneaded with the chasen rather than whisked (the goal is a thick, lump-free paste, not froth). For usucha: 2g to 60ml at 78–80°C. At this dilution you get maximum finesse — this is not the tier for lattes.
How to Prepare Each Grade
A few fixed principles apply across all three, then grade-specific adjustments:
- Sift first. Matcha clumps on contact with moisture in the air. Even a few seconds through a fine sieve eliminates the lumps that otherwise survive whisking. Skip this and you are fighting the powder rather than the flavour.
- Water temperature. 80°C for Soju, 78–80°C for Meiju and Oju. Boiling water extracts bitterness from catechins that would otherwise stay dormant. A thermometer is useful; if you don't have one, letting boiled water rest in the bowl for 30–60 seconds before adding matcha puts you in the right range.
- Chasen quality matters. A 80-prong (80本立) chasen handles all three grades. For koicha with Meiju or Oju, a wider-tine chasen (茶筅, koicha style) is more appropriate. The whisking motion for usucha is a rapid M or W — surface-level, not bottom-scraping.
| Grade | Preparation | Ratio | Temperature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soju | Usucha / lattes | 1.5–2g : 60–80ml | ~80°C |
| Meiju | Usucha / light koicha | Usucha: 2g : 60–70ml / Koicha: 3–4g : 30–40ml | 78–80°C / 75–78°C |
| Oju | Koicha / ceremonial usucha | Koicha: 4g : 30ml / Usucha: 2g : 60ml | 75–78°C |
A Note on the YouTube Film
The video below is from Marukyu Koyamaen's own channel. It shows the production environment — the tea fields in Ogura, the ishiusu grinding room, the sorting and blending. Worth watching once if you've never seen what a working matcha facility looks like.
Quick Chooser
- Daily cup / learning technique / lattes: Soju
- More complexity / guests / occasional koicha: Meiju
- Ceremony / koicha / the best bowl you'll make this week: Oju
All three are in stock at UNEARTHED in 20g and 40g tins. We carry the EU-formulated versions only — same house, same Uji origin, pesticide levels consistently below EU thresholds.