It began with a single bowl in Kyoto — and the uncomfortable realization that almost everything I'd been drinking before wasn't really matcha at all.

That question took me to Uji, the small city where matcha has been cultivated for over eight centuries. I spent my days moving between farms, sitting with growers, learning to taste what separates a good harvest from an exceptional one. How shading the leaves before picking transforms them. Why stone-milling can't be rushed.

Most of what I know came from farmers who have done this for generations and were patient enough to explain it to someone who wouldn't stop asking questions. Those conversations became relationships, and those relationships became IRO Matcha.

I also learned that matcha isn't only a drink. Sitting through tea ceremony taught me that the care matters as much as the leaf — the sifting, the whisking, the pause before the first sip.

We source only from those same Uji growers. No blending down, no shortcuts, no compromise on grade. Just the best matcha I could find, brought back exactly as I found it.