Matcha Ting

都市The city

The city

We were flying 2,500 kilometres for ninety seconds.

Hong Kong doesn’t stop. So we leave — everyone here does. Kyoto, mostly.

And we always came back with tea. Good tea, expensive tea, tins we’d queued for. Then we’d put them in a cupboard and not open them, because the thing we’d flown for was never in the tin.

It was the moment when someone hands you a bowl and there is nothing to do, nowhere to be, and no phone. We once added up what those trips had cost against how many of those moments we’d actually had. The exchange rate was appalling.

Then one of us learned to make it properly — sift, whisk, wait, ninety seconds — and it turned out that feeling had been portable all along. It was never Kyoto. It was the bowl.

Ninety seconds. No airfare. That’s all Matcha Ting is.

One of us named this company after the other. We’re not telling you which.

— The founders

An iced matcha latte in a glass mug on a white desk beside a laptop — Tuesday, 3pm, at the desk

稽古Workshops

Workshops

Come and make your first bowl.

No experience needed, and no expectation that you’ll take up tea ceremony afterwards. Come for an afternoon; leave knowing how to make a bowl properly — and knowing what you actually like.

The whisk — it’s all in the wrist

One~~Learn~~

Where matcha comes from, and why most of what’s sold as matcha isn’t. Shade-grown leaf, stone mills, and the difference between the tin at the supermarket and the tin worth keeping. Ten minutes of history, no lecture.

Two~~Make~~

Your own bowl, your own whisk, your own wrist. We’ll show you the grip, the angle and the sound to listen for — then get out of the way. Most people’s first bowl is lumpy. Most people’s third is very good.

Three~~Discover~~

Several matcha, side by side, tasted properly. One will be grassy and bright, another thick and almost sweet, another brisk and a little bitter in a way you may love. We help you work out which one is yours — and then you know what to buy for the rest of your life.

Because taste isn’t a ranking. People genuinely disagree about which matcha is best, and every one of them is right.

Small groups, so everyone gets attention and nobody hides at the back. All tools and matcha provided — nothing to bring and nothing to prepare. Sessions vary in size and length depending on the venue and the group, and we’ll always tell you the details before you book.

Tell me when you’re near me

道具Collection

The collection

A short list of things worth owning.

High-grade Japanese matcha, and the tools to make it properly. That’s the whole range. We taste everything before we stock it — and we’d rather carry a few good things than a shelf of ordinary ones.

Tins and pouches of Japanese matcha arranged on a pale stone surface

Ceremonial~~To drink~~

The young, shaded leaf, ground for drinking on its own with nothing added. This is what we pour in the workshops.

For milk~~A different job~~

A deeper, stronger grind that holds its own against oat or dairy instead of disappearing into it. Not a lesser matcha — a different job.

Tools~~The four~~

Chawan, chasen, chashaku, sieve. Sold singly, or boxed as a set for someone beginning. Including you.

Coming~~Soon~~

A tin a month, chosen to suit the palate you found in the workshop. And a small, seasonal, slightly silly mystery box — we’ll say no more for now.

Tell me when it’s in stock

宇治Origin

Origin

Uji first — then the rest of Japan.

Tea has grown in the hills south of Kyoto since the twelve-hundreds. By the time the tea ceremony took shape, Uji was already where you went for the best leaf — and eight centuries later it still is.

The finest fields are covered for a few weeks before picking. Deprived of sun, the leaf turns sweeter and darker. Then it’s ground between granite wheels, slowly — about thirty grams an hour — because speed makes heat, and heat costs colour, aroma and sweetness.

Most of our matcha comes from Uji and the hills around Kyoto. But Uji isn’t the only part of Japan making something worth drinking — other regions grow leaf with a character of its own, and we buy from them when it earns its place. We’d rather follow the leaf than the postcode.

We’re building direct relationships with growers rather than buying blends through a trading house. Those aren’t signed yet, so we’re not printing a farmer’s name on a tin to look older than we are. When we can name them, we’ll name them here.

We’d rather tell you what we don’t know yet.

The fields, a few weeks before picking

縁Partner

Partner with us

We’re building something that travels.

Matcha Ting began with a room, a few bowls, and people who wanted to slow down for an afternoon. The idea turns out to be portable — the teaching, the sourcing and the ritual work as well in one city as in another.

Franchise~~The workshop~~

Run Matcha Ting workshops in your city. We supply the matcha, the tools, the teaching materials and the training — we train the trainer, and you host. You bring the room and the local audience. We’re looking for people who care about doing it properly more than doing it quickly.

Invest~~What comes next~~

Beyond workshops and retail, the road runs through a monthly matcha subscription, a tool range, and ultimately Matcha Ting cafés — with franchised cafés after that. The café stage needs capital and the right partners. If that’s you, we’d be glad to share the detail.

Start a conversation

Every Matcha Ting is a pavilion. We’d like there to be one in a lot of cities.

案内The list

The list

The first bowls are nearly ready.

We’re opening our first workshops and bringing in our first small batch from Uji. Leave your name and your city, and we’ll write when there’s a seat or a tin worth telling you about. Once. When it matters. This isn’t a newsletter.