Learning to pick Samidori in Uji

From Uji, with love.

In May 2026, we took members of the MTCH™ team into the tea fields to learn how to pick Samidori, written さみどり in Japanese.

We were working with tea being grown for competition. The quality of that season's leaves was very good: soft leaves, tender stems, a slender shape, and a beautiful green colour.

These were simple things to notice, but they meant more when we could see and feel them in the field.

This is a small record of that day, with our team learning through the work itself. Before there is a bowl of matcha, there are leaves to understand and hands learning how to handle them.