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Bessei Hatsumukashi “No.1” — The Purest Buds, the Deepest Umami
Highly Praised at the 2024 National Tea Competition
Crafted from the earliest spring leaves—only the first and second buds, hand-picked in Shirakawa, Uji—this matcha represents the pinnacle of precision and patience.
Using the Asahi cultivar, known for its exceptional balance of sweetness, umami, and aroma, the tencha is slow-aged for up to two years in cold storage to bring out its full potential.
The result: a matcha that was highly rated in the 2024 National Tea Competition, affirming its exceptional quality.
Stone-milled into a fine powder, this matcha offers a pure, refreshing sweetness, followed by a deep and elegant umami. Bitterness is nearly absent, and the aftertaste is long, smooth, and quietly profound.
Its aroma is layered—floral and refined from the cultivar, oceanic richness from shaded cultivation, and a toasty finish from the traditional drying process, known as roka.
Visually, it stuns with its vivid, yet transparent green hue—not just bold, but with a clarity and depth only nature and time can create.
Bessei Hatsumukashi “No.1” is not simply premium matcha—it is the culmination of craftsmanship, climate, and care, made in extremely limited quantities.
A true ceremonial-grade tea for moments that deserve quiet luxury.
| Contents | 20g can |
|
Expiration Date |
3 months |
| Allergens | none |
Box/length 7.2 x width 7.2 x height 7.6 (cm)
Weight
net:20g
gross:116g
Customer Reviews
Although the taste is not bad, but it is completely incomparable to previous versions such as 2016 and 2023.
In my impression, 別製初昔 means the highest grade of Matcha, made by the tea with prize in Kansai or National tea competition, with bright green color as well as amazing umami sweet taste. But these impressive memories no longer exist after 2023.
Anyway, back to this version, it is only made by tea with highly praised, not the tea with prize. That’s totally two different concepts. Besides that, the color is not beautiful, not 碧翠, maybe it’s the result of getting aged. The aroma is strong and the texture is very soft, as well as no bitterness, so the taste is not bad, but the umami and the sweet is obviously not enough.
In my conclusion, the quality of 別製初昔 is gradually downgrading, especially the version of beginning of 2025 and this version. I think it’s taste only reach the standard of 初昔, and its color is not the color that a highest grade matcha should have.
Customer Reviews
Although the taste is not bad, but it is completely incomparable to previous versions such as 2016 and 2023.
In my impression, 別製初昔 means the highest grade of Matcha, made by the tea with prize in Kansai or National tea competition, with bright green color as well as amazing umami sweet taste. But these impressive memories no longer exist after 2023.
Anyway, back to this version, it is only made by tea with highly praised, not the tea with prize. That’s totally two different concepts. Besides that, the color is not beautiful, not 碧翠, maybe it’s the result of getting aged. The aroma is strong and the texture is very soft, as well as no bitterness, so the taste is not bad, but the umami and the sweet is obviously not enough.
In my conclusion, the quality of 別製初昔 is gradually downgrading, especially the version of beginning of 2025 and this version. I think it’s taste only reach the standard of 初昔, and its color is not the color that a highest grade matcha should have.