Marukyu Koyamaen matcha for cafés: which of the 18 grades to order, and what each one costs per cup

What we added and how we supply it

Marukyu Koyamaen is the Uji tea house that most people outside Japan have heard of, and the name cafés ask us about most. From October 2026 the catalog carries its matcha range, eighteen grades from the koicha teas at the top to the processing grades at the bottom. We are an independent wholesaler: we buy the range in Japan through regular distribution, keep it sealed in the maker's own tins and bags, and ship it from Osaka with the rest of your order. Each grade has one published price per kilo, the same basis as every other product on this site, with the per-tin and per-bag price worked out on the brand page. Orders are placed with Uji when yours arrives and ship in 7 to 10 business days.

Two things we do not do: we do not repack it, and we do not put anyone's private label on it. It ships as the maker sells it.

The ladder, top to bottom

The range splits into two halves. The upper half is first harvest only and stone-milled, sold in 20 g, 40 g, 100 g and 200 g tins: Tenju, Choan, Eiju, Unkaku, Kinrin, Wako, Yugen and Chigi no Shiro, with Isuzu and Aoarashi in 100 g bags. The lower half is blended across harvests and machine-milled for processing, sold by the kilo: Wakatake, Midorigi, Byakuren, Rindo, Suisen, Ayame, Towa and Sumire. For a café, the useful part of the ladder starts at Chigi no Shiro and runs down.

Marukyu Koyamaen grades by café use, FOB Osaka list prices, October 2026

For usucha: Aoarashi, Isuzu, Wako, Chigi no Shiro

Aoarashi at $330 / kg is the grade cafés abroad ask for by name, and for good reason: vivid green, a sweet nose and mellow umami, first harvest, stone-milled for the drinking lots. It whisks into a clean usucha and holds its colour in milk. Isuzu at $380 / kg sits one step up with more umami and a touch more astringency, the grade tea schools use for practice. Chigi no Shiro at $430 / kg and Wako at $650 / kg are the drinking grades proper: fresh aroma, clean finish, the tea a counter whisks to order for a customer who knows what usucha is. All four ship in the maker's tins or 100 g bags, so they also work as a retail shelf item next to the bar.

For lattes and desserts: Wakatake and Midorigi

Wakatake at $280 / kg is the one most cafés should look at first. Blended across first and second harvest, machine-milled, built for milk and cream: the maker's own guidance is premium ice cream, fresh cream and cake batter, and used generously the matcha comes through. In a latte at our standard 4 g it gives a strong, rounded cup with vivid colour. Midorigi at $250 / kg is the next step down, lighter in umami, still vivid, and the better value for soft serve and blended drinks. Both come by the kilo, which is how a café wants to buy them.

For baking: the processing grades

Byakuren ($220 / kg), Rindo ($190 / kg), Suisen ($150 / kg), Ayame ($140 / kg), Towa ($140 / kg) and Sumire ($120 / kg) are processing grades, sold by the kilo for ice cream, baked goods, bread dough and mixes. The further down the list, the more astringency and the stronger the green, which is what you want when the tea has to survive butter, sugar and an oven. Rindo is the widely used all-rounder; Suisen and Ayame are for frozen desserts and bread where you need colour at a low dose. Our own Aki at $100 / kg covers the same ground from Yame.

Cost per cup

At our café recipe of 4 g per latte, the tea cost per cup is the price per kilo divided by 250. The processing grades are not cheaper per cup than our own café lots; they are a different flavour and a different name.

• Aoarashi, $330 / kg: $1.32 of tea per 4 g latte, $0.66 per 2 g usucha.
• Isuzu, $380 / kg: $1.52 per latte, $0.76 per usucha.
• Wakatake, $280 / kg: $1.12 per latte.
• Midorigi, $250 / kg: $1.00 per latte.
• Rindo, $190 / kg: $0.76 per latte, or about $0.19 per 100 g of ice cream base at 10 g per litre.
• Wako, $650 / kg: $1.30 per 2 g usucha, whisked to order.

Our latte pricing guide walks through the rest of the cup: milk, cup, labour and the margin that is left.

Where we ship it, and what comes with it

The range is not certified organic, so it is not part of our EU and UK organic programme; we ship it to the United States and to every market outside the EU and the UK. A certificate of analysis comes with every lot, with the maker's product information, our commercial invoice and packing list, and for the US the prior notice filed by us. Samples of the stone-milled grades are priced by the gram at the same rate and sent in the maker's smallest pack; Aoarashi, Isuzu and the kilo grades go on the normal sample form at 20 g for $5. The catalog filter shows the whole range on one page.

Questions buyers ask