{"title":"Kagoshima Matcha","description":"\u003cp\u003eKagoshima sits at the southern tip of Kyushu and has grown into Japan's second largest tea region. A warm Pacific climate, volcanic soils and modern gardens make it the most important counterweight to Uji in today's matcha market. KOJA's single estate ceremonial, \u003ca href=\"\/products\/origin-no-1-tin\"\u003eOrigin Nº 1\u003c\/a\u003e, is grown here.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eWhat makes Kagoshima different as a tea region?\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGeography, mostly: it is Japan's southernmost major growing area, with volcanic soils and some of the earliest harvests in the country. Ash from the region's active volcanoes built deep, well-draining soils that tea roots take to readily. The warm southern climate wakes the plants early: the first flush typically starts in early April, often weeks before more northern regions pick a single leaf.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe land itself shaped the farming. Where Uji's tea grows on small plots folded between hills, much of Kagoshima's tea stands on open plains and plateaus. Flat land allows large contiguous gardens and large gardens allow a style of tea farming that the next section describes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eScale is the other half of the picture. Kagoshima today accounts for a substantial share of Japan's total tea production and its tencha capacity has been growing while Uji's is essentially fixed by its geography. That trajectory is recent enough that many drinkers in Europe still know the region's matcha only from blends, where it quietly does much of the work.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eHow does Kagoshima differ from Uji?\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUji is the heritage model and Kagoshima is the modern one; neither owns quality. Uji built the matcha category over centuries: small family plots, hand work and names that carry weight far beyond Japan. Kagoshima entered tencha production much later and built for this century instead: larger consolidated gardens, mechanized harvesting, modern shading systems and continuous investment in processing lines.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe craft steps that define the grade are the same in both places: weeks of shading before harvest, first-flush picking, careful steaming and drying, slow milling. What differs is the organizational model around those steps. The heritage model produces small quantities with a famous postcode. The modern model produces consistent quality at a scale that can be planned and audited, which is precisely what a brand built on batch data needs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eWhich cultivars are typical for Kagoshima?\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYutaka Midori, Saemidori and Okumidori are the names you will meet most often from the region. While much of Japan's tea area is planted with the single workhorse cultivar Yabukita, Kagoshima diversified early and now grows one of the broadest cultivar mixes in the country.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eYutaka Midori:\u003c\/strong\u003e deep green color and a full, rich umami. An early-budding cultivar that suits the warm south.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSaemidori:\u003c\/strong\u003e known for natural sweetness and a vivid green cup. A frequent choice for high-grade tencha.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eOkumidori:\u003c\/strong\u003e late-budding, balanced and smooth. Often used to round out a profile.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese are regional patterns, not a product claim. What our garden actually harvested for a given batch and when it was milled is printed on the batch data sheet of that tin, not implied by a region name.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eWhy does Kagoshima matter during the matcha shortage?\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBecause it has the capacity to keep delivering while demand outruns supply. In 2025\/26 global demand for tencha outran the harvest and the famous Uji houses moved to allocation: fixed quotas, waitlists and empty shelves for everyone who built on a single supplier.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKagoshima's larger gardens and mechanized harvest scale in a way heritage smallholdings cannot. That does not make the region immune to a tight market, but it makes supply planning possible. For you as a buyer that translates simply: batches keep arriving, mill dates stay recent and the matcha you liked is still in stock when you come back for the refill. It is one of the reasons KOJA sources from three regions with Kagoshima as the anchor; the full reasoning behind that decision is on the \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/about\"\u003eabout page\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eWhat does single estate mean at KOJA?\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne garden, one region, one traceable batch. Origin Nº 1 is not blended across suppliers: every batch comes from the same Kagoshima estate and ships with its printed data sheet covering garden, region, harvest and mill date, lab-tested per batch. You can check the sheet of your tin on the \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/verify\"\u003ebatch verify page\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe formats: a 30 g tin for 39 € (15 bowls at 2 g), a 100 g refill for 89 € (50 bowls) and a \u003ca href=\"\/products\/origin-no-1-sample\"\u003e10 g sample for 9.90 €\u003c\/a\u003e if you want five bowls of proof before committing. For the grade context around it, the \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/ceremonial-matcha\"\u003eceremonial matcha collection\u003c\/a\u003e compares Origin Nº 1 with our daily blend.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eFAQ\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eIs Kagoshima matcha as good as Uji matcha?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGrade follows process, not postcode: shading weeks, first-flush picking and careful milling decide what lands in the bowl. Both regions produce the full quality range. Judge the batch in front of you, which is exactly what a printed data sheet lets you do.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat does Kagoshima matcha taste like?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe region is known for full-bodied, deeply colored teas. Origin Nº 1 specifically leads with deep umami, carries a soft natural sweetness and finishes without bitterness when prepared at 80 °C. Whisked straight at 2 g per bowl it shows the profile most clearly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhen is matcha harvested in Kagoshima?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe spring harvest typically begins in early April, among the earliest in Japan thanks to the warm southern climate. The exact harvest of your batch is one of the four fields printed on every KOJA data sheet.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"origin-no-1-tin","title":"Origin Nº 1","description":"\u003cp\u003eSingle estate ceremonial matcha from Kagoshima, stone milled in small batches and packed in a 30 g tin. 15 bowls at 2 g each. The full batch data is printed on the tin, so you know exactly what you are whisking.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eBatch data sheet\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eGarden\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSingle estate, printed on your tin\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eRegion\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eKagoshima\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHarvest\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFirst flush, spring 2026\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMill date\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e12.05.2026\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\u003e\u003cp\u003eSample sheet for batch 2026-04. Your tin carries the values of its own batch.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eHow it tastes\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSweet umami up front\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFresh green notes, no bitterness at 70 °C\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eClean finish that stays\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003ch3\u003eHow to prepare\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSift 2 g into a dry bowl\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAdd 70 ml water at about 70 °C\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhisk in a fast W motion until a fine foam forms\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2.60 € per bowl.\u003c\/strong\u003e 39 € for 15 bowls at 2 g.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"KOJA","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54579438518601,"sku":null,"price":39.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/4237\/9337\/files\/koja-origin-no-1-tin-main_799b0dba-fbbe-40d6-ae25-c1368b2f79b2.png?v=1781121533"},{"product_id":"origin-no-1-refill","title":"Origin Nº 1 Refill","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe same single estate Kagoshima ceremonial as the Origin Nº 1 tin, in a 100 g resealable pouch. 50 bowls at 2 g. Buy the tin once, refill forever.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eBatch data sheet\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eGarden\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSingle estate, printed on your pouch\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eRegion\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eKagoshima\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHarvest\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFirst flush, spring 2026\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMill date\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e12.05.2026\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\u003e\u003cp\u003eSample sheet for batch 2026-04. Your pouch carries the values of its own batch.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eHow it tastes\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSweet umami up front\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFresh green notes, no bitterness at 70 °C\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eClean finish that stays\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003ch3\u003eHow to prepare\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSift 2 g into a dry bowl\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAdd 70 ml water at about 70 °C\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhisk in a fast W motion until a fine foam forms\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1.78 € per bowl.\u003c\/strong\u003e 89 € for 50 bowls at 2 g.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"KOJA","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54579438551369,"sku":null,"price":89.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/4237\/9337\/files\/koja-origin-no-1-refill-main_1b0cb8a4-52e0-4762-862e-ed51bc3f6628.png?v=1781121536"},{"product_id":"origin-no-1-sample","title":"Origin Nº 1 Sample","description":"\u003cp\u003e10 g of the single estate Kagoshima ceremonial in a sealed sachet. 5 bowls at 2 g, enough to know if Origin Nº 1 is your matcha before you commit to a tin.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eBatch data sheet\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eGarden\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSingle estate, printed on your sachet\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eRegion\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eKagoshima\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHarvest\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFirst flush, spring 2026\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMill date\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e12.05.2026\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\u003e\u003cp\u003eSample sheet for batch 2026-04. Your sachet carries the values of its own batch.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eHow it tastes\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSweet umami up front\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFresh green notes, no bitterness at 70 °C\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eClean finish that stays\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003ch3\u003eHow to prepare\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSift 2 g into a dry bowl\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAdd 70 ml water at about 70 °C\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhisk in a fast W motion until a fine foam forms\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1.98 € per bowl.\u003c\/strong\u003e 9.90 € for 5 bowls at 2 g.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"KOJA","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54579439927625,"sku":null,"price":9.9,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/4237\/9337\/files\/koja-origin-no-1-sample-main_e358e28c-c80e-4132-8c5e-88df04729972.png?v=1781121540"},{"product_id":"koja-starter-kit","title":"KOJA Starter Kit","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe full setup for your first KOJA bowl: Origin Nº 1 ceremonial matcha in a 30 g tin, a bamboo chasen and a simple matcha bowl. Built for a clean first ritual without the ceremony theatre.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWhat is inside\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOrigin Nº 1 ceremonial matcha, 30 g tin\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBamboo chasen whisk\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSimple ceramic matcha bowl\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003ch3\u003eBatch data sheet\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eGarden\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSingle estate, printed on your tin\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eRegion\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eKagoshima\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHarvest\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFirst flush, spring 2026\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMill date\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e12.05.2026\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e15 bowls at 2 g.\u003c\/strong\u003e 49 € for the full starter setup.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"KOJA","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54580268433737,"sku":"KOJA-STARTER-KIT","price":69.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/4237\/9337\/files\/koja-starter-kit-main.png?v=1781121931"}],"url":"https:\/\/kojamatcha.de\/collections\/kagoshima-matcha.oembed","provider":"KOJA Matcha","version":"1.0","type":"link"}