Since 1894 / Over 130 Years of Tea Excellence

Crafting delicious tea. It’s what we do.

Established in 1894, we draw on over 130 years of tea expertise to select matcha and sencha by origin, cultivar, and application. After selection, we carefully preserve freshness with measures including storage at −25°C, so our tea reaches you in excellent condition. We offer options for cafés, confectionery, private-label brands, and wholesale buyers.

Cafés & Matcha Lattes Confectionery & Desserts Private Label Wholesale & Import

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Our Philosophy

Authentic tea, crafted to uncompromising standards.

At Kanehachi Chaen, working with tea means more than buying and selling a product. Since our founding in 1894, we have dedicated ourselves to one purpose: producing authentic tea that meets uncompromising standards.

Our recommendations are grounded in long-standing relationships with growers and business partners, an understanding of Japanese tea culture passed down through generations, and expertise in the distinctive qualities of each growing region. We help international customers find Japanese matcha and tea suited to their needs.

For Your Business

The right tea for your application.

Cafés & Matcha Latte Shops

Matcha with a vibrant green color that pairs beautifully with milk. Consistent quality you can build your menu around.

Confectionery & Dessert Manufacturers

From grades that resist color loss during heating to options for a premium finish, we recommend matcha suited to confections and ice cream.

Private-Label Brands

Discuss grades, ingredients, and blends tailored to your brand.

Importers, Wholesalers & Distributors

We work with businesses overseas. Reliable supply and quality control support lasting business relationships.

Matcha Grades

Three grades to suit your application.

Different applications call for different colors, flavor profiles, and performance. All three grades are available in organic and non-organic options.

Ceremonial

Made entirely from first-harvest tea leaves. This high-grade matcha has a fine, smooth texture, vibrant green color, and rich flavor. Suited to traditional tea preparation, including koicha (thick tea) and usucha (thin tea), and premium Japanese confections.

Matcha Latte Grade

Balanced flavor and ease of use. Its bright green color and balanced umami make it well suited to matcha lattes, confectionery, and ice cream.

Culinary Grade

A grade that retains a pronounced matcha flavor and color and resists color loss during heating. Versatile enough for confectionery, baking, lattes, and desserts.

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Why Kanehachi

Six strengths, built on 130 years of experience.

Over 130 Years of History

Founded in 1894, we bring generations of experience as tea merchants to our product selection and recommendations.

Relationships with Growing Regions & Growers

We value long-term relationships built on trust, including partnerships with family tea farms in their third generation and beyond.

An Experienced Eye for Tea

Our expertise comes from years of evaluating aroma, taste, brewed color, and appearance. We apply the quality judgment developed through sencha finishing to recommend matcha grades and ingredients suited to your application.

Award-Winning Tea-Finishing Expertise

We bring the expertise of our tea masters and craftspeople, winners of the Grand Gold Prize at the 17th Tea Finishing Skills Competition Using Identical Aracha, to our work with matcha. We focus on understanding each ingredient’s character and bringing out its quality.

Freshness Protected from Selection to Shipment

Quality care continues after selection. Large-scale freezers set to −25°C and other measures protect our ingredients from temperature changes, light, and moisture, preserving their condition through production and shipment.

Quality Control & International Business Support

We conduct sensory evaluations, pesticide residue testing, compositional analysis, and testing of every lot. We also work with international businesses and can discuss documentation for export.

Quality & Facilities

Quality preserved beyond production, all the way to you.

Our commitment to quality continues after production. To prevent deterioration, we manage freshness with measures including large-scale freezers set to −25°C. Our systems preserve the tea’s condition through packaging and shipment.

Alongside sensory evaluations of aroma, taste, brewed color, and appearance, we test for 200+ pesticide residues, test every lot, and conduct compositional analysis. Cleanrooms and air shower rooms provide a hygienic packaging environment.

JAS Organic–Certified Facility (Certifier: JONA)

HACCP-Compliant

FSSC 22000 Certification in Progress

Testing for 200+ Pesticide Residues

Compositional Analysis (Catechins, Theanine, and More)

Every Lot Tested

Large-Scale Freezers at −25°C

Cleanrooms

Air Shower Rooms

Export Certificates Available

Origins & Sourcing

Rooted in the regions. Connected to the growers.

Japanese teas vary in aroma and flavor from region to region. Through relationships with growers built over years of business, we select and recommend tea leaves suited to your application.

Honyama, ShizuokaA distinguished tea-growing region with an 800-year history, also beloved by Tokugawa Ieyasu. In the misty mountains along the upper Abe River, river fog provides natural shade, nurturing tender leaves and a distinctive mountain aroma. Kanehachi Chaen’s Kamicha, presented as an offering to Kunozan Toshogu Shrine, is made from Shizuoka Honyama tea.

MakinoharaWith its expansive tea fields, Makinohara is one of Shizuoka’s leading tea-growing regions. The Tsuyuhikari cultivar produces matcha with a vivid, deep color and is highly regarded by our international customers. It is one of the cultivars we offer to bring distinctive character to matcha.

RyougouchiTea fields spread across the mountains of Ryougouchi, where striking seas of clouds appear. Kanehachi Chaen’s Tenku no Cha, made with leaves grown here, won the Grand Gold Prize at the World Green Tea Contest 2024. This region is home to a tea-growing tradition shaped by its rich mountain environment.

Proof of Craftsmanship

Award-winning expertise in selecting and finishing tea.

Kanehachi Chaen has earned awards in sencha competitions and exhibitions. These achievements demonstrate our skill in evaluating tea leaves and refining their quality. We bring the same expertise and experience to matcha ingredient selection and recommendations for specific applications.

Grand Gold Prize, World Green Tea Contest 2024

TENKU NO CHA

Tea Above the Clouds

Leaves grown at elevations of 350 m or higher, in mountain areas overlooking seas of clouds
Grown by farmers committed to cultivating and processing tea on their own farms
Sencha evaluated leaf by leaf and finished by experienced craftspeople

Gold Prize, World Green Tea Contest 2023

KAMICHA

Divine Tea

Shizuoka Honyama tea of the highest quality
A distinguished tea authorized for presentation as an offering to Kunozan Toshogu Shrine
A traditional flavor said to have been cherished by Tokugawa Ieyasu

Gold Prize, World Green Tea Contest 2022 / 2024

CHAKA

Premium Single-Origin Tea

Midorigo (Honyama) / Yabukita (Makinohara)
Okuyutaka (Ryougouchi) / Kirari 31 (Makinohara)
Saeakari (Makinohara) / Tsuyuhikari (Makinohara)
Single-origin teas that showcase the character of each region and cultivar

These awards were earned by our sencha teas. We draw on this experience in evaluating origins and tea leaves to recommend matcha grades and ingredients suited to your application.

Visits & Facility Tours

Visit. Taste. See for yourself.

Many of our business customers have visited the growing regions, tasted our matcha, met growers, and toured our production and storage facilities before moving forward with a business relationship.

Visit Tea-Growing RegionsMeet the GrowersTour Production & Storage FacilitiesTaste the TeaDiscuss Your Business Needs

International businesses and buyers are welcome to inquire about visits to tea-growing regions and production and storage facilities. Visits require advance reservations. We tailor each visit to your objectives, timing, group size, and what you’d like to see.

Explore Visits & Facility Tours→

Trade Guide

How to order and what to expect.

View the Trade Guide→

Our trade guide outlines our established basic terms for samples, minimum order quantities, payment, lead times, pricing, private-label products, and custom blends. Get in touch even if you are still deciding on quantities or applications.

Paid SamplesMinimum Order QuantityPaymentLead TimePricing TermsShelf LifePrivate Label & Custom Blends

Get Started

Tell us your application.
Explore your options. Try samples.

Tell us about your application, expected quantities, and sales plans, and we’ll recommend suitable grades and ingredients. If helpful, we can discuss your needs online before you evaluate the aroma, color, and flavor of paid samples.

Request Paid Samples→ Business Inquiry Form→

You can also contact us to discuss a visit.