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Grades & quality
"Ceremonial" means different things at every supplier. Here is exactly what it means at ours, shown under the same light.
Grade comparison · one white sheet, one exposure
Ceremonial
Drink it straight.
1st harvest, 20+ days shaded, stone-milled. Usucha, koicha, and the latte you put your name on.
See Ceremonial →
Café
Built for the milk steamer.
1st or 2nd harvest blends chosen for colour hold and low bitterness at 2 g per cup. The volume grade.
See Café →
Culinary
Baking, ice cream, sauces.
Autumn tencha and 2nd harvest. Strong flavour that survives sugar, butter and heat.
See Culinary →How we check every lot
Four tests, same room, same cup.
01
Colour
Dry powder photographed on the same sheet, same light, next to the previous lot.
02
Particle size
Finger smear and sieve. Stone mill ~10 µm, ball mill ~15 µm.
03
Cup
Usucha at 75 °C and a 2 g latte. Scored for umami, bitterness, aroma.
04
Paper
Residue test, organic certificate and harvest date filed with the lot number.
Shaded rows · 3 weeks before harvestCertificates on fileJAS Organic · USDA NOP · FDA facility registration · Halal (mill) · residue report per lot. Copies ship with every order; ask before you buy and we send them.What each certificate covers →