RIKYU

RIKYU is a matcha wholesaler in Tokyo, and I am one of its co-founders. We buy matcha, hojicha and tencha directly from farmers in five regions of Japan, and sell it to cafés, brands and distributors in more than ten countries.

What matcha is

Matcha is green tea ground into a fine powder. For the last weeks before the harvest, the tea bushes are covered to keep out the sun. The leaves turn a deeper green and taste sweeter.

The picked leaves are steamed and dried flat. At that stage the tea is called tencha. Ground, traditionally between two stones, tencha becomes matcha. Hojicha is green tea that has been roasted.

Two growers rolling a black shade cloth over rows of tea bushes — Shading the tea before harvest

A granite stone mill with tencha leaves on top and green matcha powder gathering below — Tencha in a stone mill

A heap of bright green matcha powder on a dark surface — Matcha, from the catalogue

Where it comes from

Terraced tea fields in the Uji hills at sunrise — Uji, Kyoto

Shaded tencha fields under black netting in Nishio — Nishio, Aichi

Tea fields and ponds in the Yame mountains, seen from the air — Yame, Fukuoka

Tea fields in Shizuoka with Mount Fuji behind — Shizuoka

A harvesting machine in flat rows of tea bushes in Kagoshima — Kagoshima

Straight rows of tea bushes seen from above, with a harvesting machine working along one row — All five origins

Nishio is in Aichi, the prefecture where I grew up.

How it works

CustomersMore than 100Cafés, brands and distributors
CountriesMore than 10
FarmersMore than 10 partner farmers
StockKept in TokyoShips the next business day and reaches the United States in about three days

There are three ways to buy.

Cardboard boxes of tea stacked on shelves in the RIKYU stockroom — In bulk, from 5 kg

A hand holding a green and white matcha can above a sachet — With your own label, from 100 cans

A tea field in Kagoshima with long shade covers and hills behind — As a wholesale partner

What I do there

I work on the brand, the content in English, finding buyers, the sales talks, and the channels the tea is sold through.

What I learn here goes into Algoboa, which does the same work for other companies.

Two members of the RIKYU team standing in a tea field with their arms crossed, smiling — The RIKYU team in a tea field

Why matcha

One of my principles is to start with things people really need. People will not stop drinking matcha or coffee.

Another is that culture from any country can travel once it is in a form that sells. Matcha is Japanese culture in a form a café anywhere can put on its menu.

My great-grandfather went abroad to grow a crop. I send one abroad. That story is on the Family page.

Company

Operated byFRIENDS CORP.Tokyo
Websiterikyumatcha.co.jp
Instagram@rikyu.matcha
LinkedInRIKYU Matcha Company

The numbers and the photos on this page are from the RIKYU website, November 2026.