Definitely, you are not going to argue the uncontested truth that Japanese tea is globally savored. All through Asia, cutting across Europe all through the Americas, the love of Japanese tea has rightly permeated the universe. The likes of matcha tea, genmaicha, gyokuro tea have all turned out to be global delicacies for their flavor and even for their amazing health benefits. They are also great gifts as well.
To this effect considering the enormous demand of Japanese tea across the globe, there are hundreds of Japanese tea brands scattered across the world. For tea enthusiasts, there are of course some very popular tea brands which are almost household names. How about we examine some of the biggest Japanese tea brands in this review? Here are ten of the famous Japanese tea brands globally.
Table of Contents
NO.1 Fukujuen (福寿園)
Fukujuen is one of the oldest Japanese tea brands in existence today. Fukujuen came into existence since far back in 1790. Isn’t this astonishing? Fukujuen was historically founded by Fukui Iyemon. This was in Kyoto.
Interestingly Fukujuen didn’t start off on tea as you would suspect at first hearing. Rather Fukujuen started selling wood, shipping far and wide. With the passage of time and consolidation of technology, Fukujuen diversified in the trade of green tea where it hit gold big time.
Popularity across the world
Fukujuen tea brand is known all over the world. Most of us have rightly come to associate this Japanese tea brand as the grand patron of Japanese tea. This explains its primary position in this review. Over time, Fukujuen has gained more plaudits and popularity for their bottled green tea. One of their products, the Suntory Iyemon is rightly one of the largest selling tea product in Japan and also across the globe. The Suntory Iyemon is a nationally adored gift as well.
Fukujuen is also famed for the high quality of their matcha most particularly produced from stone mills. More than the matcha, Fukujuen is also reputable for its lovely Uji tea. One of its leading Uji product is Uji matcha powder – Seikano Shiro by Fukujuen Kyoto 20g can.
One of the Most Popular Product of Fukujuen
NO.2 Ippodo Tea (一保堂茶舗)
So do you think Ippodo tea is a new millennium Japanese tea brand or even a tea of the twenty-first century? You would be embarrassingly wrong! It could baffle you to learn that Ippodo tea dates as far back three centuries ago. Back then this Japanese tea brand started as Ippodo with an excitingly little beginning in Kyoto the home of Japanese tea on Teramachi street.
With a royal christening, Omiya was renamed as Ippodo by the noble Prince Yamashina. So far back the Meiji Period, the love for Ippodo grew far and wide with this Japanese tea brand beginning to ship tea to the United States.
Fast forward to this day, Ippodo tea is one of the biggest tea brands Japan can ever boast of. Ippodo is well famed for its Uji green tea which is aggressively loved all over Japan.
One of the Most Popular Product of Ippodo Tea
NO.3 Giontsujiri (祇園つじり)
It is quite remarkable that most of the Japanese tea brands we have been talking about have long been in existence. Yes, that is true, Japanese tea basically is ancestral and you would expect the biggest Japanese tea brands to have been in business for almost centuries. So here is another huge Japanese tea brand: Giontsujiri.
It is exciting to learn that Giontsujiri began the business of selling Uji tea in 1860. Where else did you think they started selling Uji? Kyoto of course. From the very beginning, Giontsujiri has not really diversified from the production of Uji tea. It is the sole foundation of its operation and existence. Talking further about the Uji tea of this Japanese tea brand, we learn that Giontsujiri sources its Uji tea from Southern Kyoto. Uji Gyokuro is a special tea offering of this Japanese tea brand that is massively cherished.
NO.4 Aikokuseicha (愛国製茶)
Aikokuseicha is another very famous Japanese tea brand with most of its products particularly blockbusters in Shinjuku. Aikokuseicha is very popular for the lovely quality of its green tea. This amiable Japanese tea brand started production back in 1933 by a particularly industrious Jyotaro Baba. More than this, Jyotaro Baba contributed massively to the establishment of the Keio University in the capacity of a Confucius expert.
So talking precisely Aikokuseicha and its tea journey in Japan, this Japanese tea brand started spreading its tentacles expanding operations and sales in 1941 engaging in wholesale buying and selling of tea leaves. It would interest you to know that the bulk of Aikokuseicha’s customers were the military as well as members of the Japanese’s imperial royal family. By that year, Aikokuseicha has consolidated its place as the grand purveyors to Imperial Household Agency.
NO.5 Itohkyuemon (伊藤久右衛門)
Clearly, Itohkyuemon is one of the oldest guys around in the indigenous Japanese tea industry. Far back in 1832, Itohkyuemon had its beginning when its founder Tsuneemon Itoh started trading tea in the ancient town of Uji Tawara. Well, this Japanese tea brand is very selective and ceremonious about the way it sources its products.
Peculiarly, just the first picks of tea leaves which are cultivated in its ancestral Tawara in Kyoto (Uji City), are used in the production of the top tea products of this Japanese tea brand. Most of the foremost tea products of this Japanese tea brand are delectably blended and easy to drink. Upon that, they are very refreshing with a lovely astringency to them (that is they are not notably bitter). More than the Uji tea which Itohkyuemon is popular for, they also produced matcha curry and even sweets.
NO.6 Fujiya-chaho (ふじや茶舗)
Fujiya-Chaho is one huge Japanese tea brand we cannot afford to ignore in this list. Fujiya-Chaho is known for high-quality Uji green tea spread all through Kyoto to Tokyo. Most of the tea this Japanese tea brand sells are meticulously selected from Uji Tawara. By now you must be seeing this amazing town Uji Tawara as the ancestral home of green tea in Japan. Well, you are not far from the truth as the average Japanese would agree with you.
So for generations, Fujiya-Chaho has been masterfully sourcing its tea from Uji Tawara. The soil aeration of Uji Tawara combined with its good drainage allow the tea products of Fujiya-Chaho to provide maximum nourishment giving great value for your money. Every sip of Fujiya-Chaho’s tea is definitely worth the moment.
The greenness of their products is equally enticing aside from their very appealing flavor. One of the most popular tea products of this Japanese tea brand is the Gyokuro Karigane which goes for $40. It also goes well as a great gift as well.
NO.7 Lupicia (ルピシア)
Lupicia tea as a Japanese tea brand remarkably offers over four hundred varieties of fresh tea all through the year. Isn’t this astonishing? From seasonal teas to the richest blends of originally flavored teas, you can trust Lupicia tea to marvel. Luipica tea produces and supplies tea not only in Japan but all through the globe.
While a Japanese tea brand, Lupicia tea has its headquarters operating from Havard. Lupicia doesn’t only cultivate its tea in Japan unlike the bulk of Japanese tea brands (that produce from the ancestral home of Uji Tawara in Kyoto), Lupicia tea has plantations spread across several countries. It is one of the biggest Japanese tea brands with a vast stake in the international tea market.
One of the Most Popular Product of Lupicia
NO.8 Ochaski (オチャスキー)
Ochaski tea is popularly known Japanese tea brand well rooted in Tokyo. Every resident of Tokyo would rightly attest to the worthiness of Ochaski tea being listed in this review.
Basically, Ochaski is precisely nihon-cha specialist allowing tea enthusiasts all over the world the ample opportunity to savor the beauty and deliciousness of high-quality Japanese tea. All of the products of this Japanese tea brand are single sourced from Japanese tea growers. With this in mind, we see that most of Ochaski’s products are completely traceable. Ochaski tea products make for great gift items too.
Ochaski put a lot of expertise and energy into the collection of their tea from their family-run Japanese tea growers. This Japanese tea brand goes a long way to ensure the highest quality in the growing process all through to the harvest process so as not to drop a piece of the quality of their tea products.
More than their tea being indigenously made in Japan, this Japanese goes even further to make sure that their tea bags, tea containers as well as their wrapping materials are all produced in Japan. Ochaski tea has a huge reputation in Japan when it comes to green tea and Ochaski tea has done much to preserve their acclaim. Ochaski tea products are rich in flavor and nutrients.
NO.9 Grace & Green
It is quite true that compared to some of those other huge Japanese tea brands in this review, Grace Matcha doesn’t boast equal reputation being that it is more of a new age Japanese tea brand. Grace matcha is based in Japan equally precisely located in the Chiba Prefecture. Yet even as a relatively new guy on the block, Grace Matcha has quickly expanded in fame and operation for the authenticity of their matcha which is notably wealthy in flavor and nutrients. Grace matcha tea makes a perfect idea of gift items equally.
Grace matcha offers a wide range of matcha grades for your selective relish. Therefore with the unfortunate rate at which low-quality matcha is proliferating the Japanese tea market as well as that of the world at large, Grace Matcha tea stands out for integrity and quality. It is also notable to point out that Grace matcha offers a wide range of tastes as well.
NO.10 Midori Matcha
Midori Matcha is produced from organic green tea leaves which are freshly handpicked. Midori matcha is well known for the pureness of their tea leaves with a rich composition of chlorophyll and antioxidants. Notably, Midori matcha is sourced from the mountains of Japan. While some of the other Japanese tea brands we have been examining earlier all seem to be cultivated and processed in Japan, Midori Matcha is crafted in the United States in Los Angeles which is California.
This Japanese tea brand makes use of some of the finest tea processing technology like the High Pressure Processing (HPP) which is alternatively known as Cold Pressure Processing. So unlike the more common process of cheap heat pasteurization or lacing the tea sadly with preservatives, you can always trust Midori matcha for the freshness of its matcha. No wonder it is well loved all over Japan as well as the United States.
You might also like٩(●˙▿˙●)۶…⋆ฺ:→The Top 9 Matcha Benefits You Should Know About!
→How to Properly Brew Japanese Green Tea
→10 Sencha Tea Benefits You Have To Know
→Weight Loss Has Been “Matcha Green Tea” Easier!
