Horii Shichimeien
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Matcha produced by Horii Shichimeien
Horii Shichimeien produces ceremonial-grade matcha with diverse flavor profiles, meticulously managing every stage from cultivation to stone milling. Their flagship variety is Narino, grown exclusively in the historic Oku no Yama tea garden and containing nearly twice the theanine content of conventional matcha at approximately 40mg/g. This single cultivar delivers a rich, mellow, creamy, and full-bodied flavor with smooth texture and minimal astringency.
Their core matcha lineup includes Shichimei no Mukashi, offering mild yet strong-flavored balance with medium umami and sweetness, suitable for both usucha and koicha preparation. Okunoyama provides deep umami with refined sweetness and smooth finish, crafted specifically for ceremonial use. Homare no Mukashi delivers mellow, fragrant character full of umami, while Uji Mukashi offers a lighter-bodied option with subtle umami for everyday consumption.
The Narino Premium represents their most refined product, with careful separation from tea picking through tailoring and sorting. Customer reviews describe Narino as absolutely delectable” with “smooth, creamy, full-bodied umami flavor with negligible bitterness,” though some note unique flavor notes including seaweed, grassy, and squash seed characteristics.
All varieties are stone-ground and crafted from first harvest tea leaves, maintaining the ceremonial grade standards that have earned Horii Shichimeien recognition alongside Ippodo and Marukyu Koyamaen as top matcha producers. Recent global demand has created supply challenges, with some varieties like Todou Mukashi becoming harder to find due to limited stone mill production capacity.
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History of Horii Shichimeien
Horii Shichimeien stands as a living testament to Uji’s tea heritage, with roots extending far beyond its official founding in 1879. The company’s extraordinary legacy traces back to the Muromachi period (1336-1573), when the Ashikaga Shogunate, particularly the third shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, recognized seven exceptional tea gardens in Uji, bestowing upon them the honor of Uji Shichimeien (Uji’s Seven Famous Gardens).
What makes Horii Shichimeien truly remarkable is their stewardship of the Oku no Yama Tea Garden – the sole surviving garden from those original seven. Radiocarbon dating reveals tea cultivation here extends back centuries, with soil enriched by rice straw since as early as the 1400s. Located near the historic Uji Byodoin Temple, this garden connects directly to Uji’s cultural and spiritual heart.
The Meiji era (1868-1912) brought transformative change through Chojiro Horii, the visionary third-generation owner. His revolutionary Horii-style Tencha Dryer, unveiled in 1924, transformed tencha production from a weather-dependent, labor-intensive process to a standardized, consistent operation. This innovation didn’t remain proprietary – Chojiro generously shared the technology with other tea producers, influencing the entire industry.
Today, Chotaro Horii, the sixth-generation owner, continues this legacy of innovation while preserving traditional methods. The company’s Narino cultivar, grown exclusively in the Oku no Yama garden, contains nearly twice the theanine content of conventional varieties, achieved through meticulous Shigoki Picking – a highly selective hand-picking method that carefully chooses only the youngest, most tender leaves.
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