Breakaway Matcha
Breakaway Matcha presentation
Breakaway Matcha emerged from founder Eric Gower’s deep immersion in Japanese tea culture after spending 16 years in Japan. Since 2010, this ultraspecialized brand has focused exclusively on young-growth matcha sourced from Kyoto’s dedicated artisans. Their approach centers on one principle: deliver extraordinary matcha that transforms how people experience this ancient beverage.
Microterroir Mastery
What sets Breakaway Matcha apart is their commitment to hyperpremium quality through careful terroir selection. They work directly with Japanese farmers who are part of cooperatives, blending leaves from different microterroirs to create signature profiles. Each blend represents a unique expression of Kyoto’s tea-growing regions.
Their most popular offerings include Blend 94, Blend 93, and Coldbrew Original Matcha. Some blends are produced in limited quantities, making them rare finds for serious matcha enthusiasts. Every product contains 100% pure green tea leaves with no additives, sugars, or fillers.
Education Meets Artisan Quality
Breakaway Matcha goes beyond selling powder. They provide comprehensive education through tutorials, masterclasses, and a research database that helps customers understand proper preparation techniques. For instance, they emphasize water temperature around 175°F for optimal umami extraction—a detail many brands overlook.
The brand offers both organic and conventionally grown options. Interestingly, they note that conventional matcha tends to deliver more pronounced umami, giving customers informed choices based on flavor preferences rather than marketing trends.
A Complete Matcha Experience
Beyond their core matcha powders, Breakaway Matcha curates a full ecosystem for tea appreciation. Their catalog includes traditional ceramics and teaware—bamboo whisks, sieves, scoops, and frothers that honor centuries-old preparation methods. Matcha flight kits let newcomers sample multiple blends before committing to favorites.
The brand also provides:
- Gift sets designed for both beginners and connoisseurs
- Recipe collections that expand matcha beyond the traditional bowl
- Free shipping on subscriptions and orders over $49 within the U.S.
- Journals documenting the culture and science behind their sourcing
For those seeking mindful consumption and genuine connection to Japanese tea traditions, Breakaway Matcha represents more than a product line. It’s an invitation to experience what founder Eric Gower calls “matcha bliss”—that moment when quality, preparation, and intention align perfectly.
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Matcha produced by Breakaway Matcha
Breakaway Matcha specializes in hyperpremium matcha blends that represent carefully composed expressions of distinct terroirs and cultivation philosophies. Founded by Eric Gower in 2010, the company focuses on single-origin matcha sourced directly from Japan’s most respected tea farms.
Signature Hyperpremium Blends
Blend 93 from Kyoto delivers a vivid, alive, and brothy flavor profile with fresh vegetal notes and hints of sea air. Its intense green color reflects high chlorophyll content, making it ideal for usucha (thin tea) preparation as a morning ritual.
Blend 94 from Uji offers a buoyant, creamy, and lush experience with sweet and floral aromas reminiscent of honeysuckle. This versatile blend works beautifully for koicha (thick tea) or matcha lattes, providing a luxurious treat with smooth texture and lingering sweetness.
Rikyu from Shizuoka presents an earthy, umami-rich profile with woody and savory aromas reminiscent of a forest floor. Named for Sen no Rikyu, the 16th-century tea master, this blend embodies the spirit of wabi-sabi and is perfect for traditional whisking as a meditative experience.
Hikari from Kagoshima brings bright, citrusy, and refreshing qualities with lemon and green grass aromas like a springtime meadow. Its lighter profile makes it an ideal afternoon pick-me-up, particularly when prepared as cold brew.
Quality Philosophy
Breakaway Matcha champions single-origin purity, allowing consumers to experience the unique fingerprint of each farm and terroir. The company’s commitment extends beyond sourcing to education, with Eric Gower personally crafting detailed product descriptions and engaging directly with customers to explain the profound impact of terroir, shading techniques, and milling processes on the final cup.
History of Breakaway Matcha
Breakaway Matcha emerged from Eric Gower’s sixteen-year immersion in Japanese culture and cuisine. After living and working in Japan, Gower returned to the United States in the late 2000s only to discover a matcha landscape dominated by what he considered inferior products. His response wasn’t to compete on price, but to redefine quality standards entirely.
Before founding Breakaway Matcha, Gower was a culinary chameleon: a cookbook author, ghostwriter, editor, newspaper columnist, and private chef. His years in Japan weren’t merely a cultural experience; they were a deep dive into the nation’s soul, absorbing its cuisine, language, and the subtle aesthetics that underpin Japanese life. This profound understanding of Japanese tea culture would become the foundation of his matcha venture.
Gower’s initial solution was personal: importing small batches of superior matcha and sharing it with his network of culinary elites. The enthusiastic response confirmed his suspicion that there was a market for truly exceptional matcha. However, the challenges were immediate and significant. He had to forge direct connections with Japanese tea farmers who shared his uncompromising standards for quality and sustainability.
The company’s approach centers on hyperpremium matcha sourced directly from the nuanced microterroirs of Japan. Breakaway Matcha champions single-origin matcha, allowing consumers to experience the unique fingerprint of each farm and terroir. This isn’t just about traceability; it’s about celebrating the diversity and complexity of Japanese matcha.
Gower’s relationship with partner farms extends beyond transactions. He makes regular pilgrimages to these farms, immersing himself in their practices and collaborating closely to ensure their matcha not only meets his exacting standards but also reflects their unique terroir and cultivation philosophy. The company actively supports traditional farming methods and sustainable agriculture, recognizing that the future of hyperpremium matcha depends on the health and vitality of these farms.
The cultivation practices employed by Breakaway’s partner farms include the traditional honzu shading method, using rice straw screens to meticulously control sunlight exposure. This technique maximizes chlorophyll and L-theanine production, resulting in the signature vibrant green hue and enhanced umami. Skilled workers hand-pick only the youngest, most tender leaves during the ichibancha (first harvest) in late April to mid-May, ensuring that only the most flavorful leaves make it into the final product.
2 events from Breakaway Matcha's history
January 2010
Breakaway Matcha Founded
Eric Gower established Breakaway Matcha after returning from sixteen years in Japan, driven by his dissatisfaction with the inferior matcha products dominating the American market. His vision was to redefine quality standards by focusing on hyperpremium matcha sourced directly from Japanese microterroirs.
January 2010
Direct Farm Partnerships Established
Gower began forging direct connections with Japanese tea farmers who shared his uncompromising standards for quality and sustainability. These partnerships went beyond mere supplier relationships, involving regular visits to farms and collaborative efforts to preserve traditional farming methods while ensuring exceptional matcha quality.
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Frequent questions
Find below some answers to the most common questions about Breakaway Matcha.
What makes Breakaway Matcha's Hyperpremium blends different from regular matcha grades?
Breakaway Matcha’s Hyperpremium blends aren’t traditional matcha grades but carefully composed expressions of distinct terroirs and cultivation philosophies. Founded by Eric Gower in 2010 after his 16-year immersion in Japanese culture, these blends represent his response to what he considered inferior matcha dominating the U.S. market.
Each Hyperpremium blend showcases unique characteristics:
- Blend 93 from Kyoto offers vivid, brothy flavors with fresh vegetal notes
- Blend 94 from Uji delivers buoyant, creamy, almost decadent richness
- Rikyu from Shizuoka provides earthy, umami-rich balance
- Hikari from Kagoshima brings bright, citrusy refreshment
These aren’t mere commodities but a testament to meticulous farming and the subtle alchemy of blending specific microterroirs from Japan.
Should I choose Breakaway Matcha's Blend 94 or Rikyu for traditional tea ceremony?
For traditional tea ceremony, Rikyu is the superior choice. Named after Sen no Rikyu, the legendary 16th-century tea master, this Shizuoka blend embodies the spirit of wabi-sabi (beauty in imperfection) that defines authentic Japanese tea ceremony.
Rikyu offers earthy, umami-rich flavors with woody and savory aromas reminiscent of a forest floor, making it ideal for traditional whisking and meditative experiences. While Blend 94 from Uji is luxuriously creamy and perfect for koicha (thick tea) or lattes, its buoyant, almost decadent character is better suited for indulgent moments rather than ceremonial practice.
How does Eric Gower's 16-year Japan experience influence Breakaway Matcha's sourcing?
Eric Gower’s extensive 16-year immersion in Japanese culture fundamentally shapes Breakaway Matcha’s entire approach. Unlike typical importers, Gower absorbed Japan’s cuisine, language, and subtle aesthetics, giving him deep understanding of authentic matcha quality standards.
This experience enables him to forge direct partnerships with Japanese tea farmers who share his uncompromising standards for quality and sustainability. Gower makes regular pilgrimages to partner farms, collaborating closely to ensure their matcha reflects unique terroir and cultivation philosophy. His relationships aren’t transactional but bonds forged on mutual respect and shared pursuit of excellence.
Having been a culinary chameleon – cookbook author, ghostwriter, editor, and private chef – Gower brings unique perspective to matcha curation, understanding both the technical aspects of tea production and the cultural significance of each cup.
Which Breakaway Matcha blend works best for cold brewing?
Hikari from Kagoshima is specifically designed for cold brewing and serves as a revitalizing elixir. This blend’s bright, citrusy profile with lemon and green grass aromas creates an exhilaratingly refreshing experience perfect for afternoon pick-me-ups.
Its lighter character and invigorating nature make it ideal for cold preparation, while the other Hyperpremium blends serve different purposes – Blend 93 energizes as morning usucha (thin tea), Blend 94 indulges as thick tea or lattes, and Rikyu provides meditative traditional whisking experiences.
What is Breakaway Matcha's single-origin purity concept?
Breakaway Matcha champions single-origin purity, allowing consumers to experience the unique fingerprint of each farm and terroir rather than blended regional products. This isn’t just about traceability – it’s about celebrating the diversity and complexity of Japanese matcha cultivation.
Each Hyperpremium blend represents a specific region’s microterroir: Kyoto’s vivid intensity, Uji’s creamy luxury, Shizuoka’s earthy balance, and Kagoshima’s bright refreshment. By maintaining single-origin integrity, customers can explore how different Japanese regions, cultivation methods, and even specific farms create distinct flavor profiles and experiences in each cup.
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