Narino holds a rare status among single-cultivar matcha — award-winning and competition-grade, grown exclusively in Oku-no-Yama, Uji, Kyoto, under conditions that cannot be replicated elsewhere. The cultivar is the product of over a decade of careful development, and the right to grow it remains limited to a select group of experienced producers who meet the exacting standards of the region’s soil, temperature, wind, and microclimate.
Shaded for 35 days or more in a Shizen-Shitate garden, then hand picked at a single harvest, hand sorted, and stone milled to order. Every stage is deliberate.
The character of Narino comes from an unusually high amino acid content — roughly double that of common Japanese cultivars — which gives the cup a deep, sustained umami that arrives gently and lingers without fading. Savory and soft at once: roasted nori, cucumber, sweet olive, a thread of olive oil, then baked pastry, vanilla, and meringue. Mildly salty. A slow, smoky finish. No bitterness, no astringency — just weight and warmth and a long quiet afterthought.
It holds beautifully as Koicha, where the depth fully opens, and just as well as Usucha for everyday drinking.
We have carried Narino at the café for years. It is the tea that changed the way we think about matcha.