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Rishi Tea: Direct-Trade Tea Company Since 1995

Rishi Tea sources organic Barista Matcha from Kagoshima, stone-milling shade-grown tencha for lattes, smoothies, and culinary drinks.
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Who is Rishi Tea?

Rishi Tea is a specialty tea company, founded in 1995, offering direct trade, organic matcha from Kagoshima, Japan. Its Organic Barista Matcha is a culinary-grade powder stone-milled from shade-grown tencha, harvested once a year between May and June.

Direct trade partnerships with organic farmers and master artisans ensure meticulous sourcing, with tencha shaded for three to four weeks under oishita saibai to boost L-theanine and color. The certified organic powder yields umami sweetness and vivid green hue for beverages.

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Products

Rishi Tea products

Rishi Tea has 4 products on the platform.
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Rishi Tea

Hangzhou Green Rock Bamboo Matcha Chasen

The Hangzhou Green Rock bamboo matcha chasen has fine, evenly spaced bristles for everyday bowls and matcha whisking practice. USD · In stock
$19.50
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Rishi Tea

Rishi Tea Bamboo Chashaku Matcha Scoop

Rishi Tea Bamboo Chashaku Matcha Scoop is a traditional Japanese teascoop for measuring out a serving of powdered matcha. USD · In stock
$22.50
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Rishi Tea

Rishi Tea Black Porcelain Chasen Stand

Rishi Tea Black Porcelain Chasen Stand is elegant matcha teaware designed to help maintain a matcha whisk’s natural figure. USD · In stock
$16
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Rishi Tea $2.3 / g

Rishi Tea & Botanicals Matcha Hekisui Green Tea Powder

Rishi Tea & Botanicals Matcha Hekisui is a blue-green Uji matcha powder with abundant umami and floral gyokuro notes. The 30-gram size is sold out. 30 g · USD · In stock
$70
Reviews

Rated 4.43/5 by 14 reviews

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Direct trade matcha and tea from global artisans

Browse the gallery to see 26 videos about matcha.
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Rishi Tea in details

Rishi Tea & Botanicals has spent decades building relationships with master tea artisans across Japan and China, creating a supply chain rooted in direct trade and mutual respect. This Milwaukee-based specialty tea company brings traditional cultivation methods and organic farming practices to every cup, ensuring that quality never takes a backseat to convenience.

Direct Trade Partnerships That Matter

Rather than working through brokers and middlemen, Rishi Tea establishes long-term partnerships directly with tea gardens. Their Organic Barista Matcha comes from carefully maintained farms in Kagoshima on Kyushu Island, where growers follow strict cultivation procedures passed down through generations. These relationships allow Rishi to ensure authentic growing practices, including the traditional 3-4 week shading period that increases chlorophyll content and enhances L-theanine levels.

This direct connection means transparency at every step. You know exactly where your matcha originates and how it was produced.

Traditional Methods Meet Modern Applications

Rishi Tea understands that today’s matcha enthusiasts need versatility. Their Barista Matcha uses first and second harvest leaves to create a powder with assertive strength designed specifically for mixing with milk, blending into smoothies, or incorporating into culinary creations. The bright green color and fresh character hold up beautifully in lattes and hot chocolate, delivering natural energy without compromising flavor.

Each 100-gram tin provides over 50 servings of certified organic matcha, offering both quality and value for regular matcha drinkers.

Comprehensive Tea Expertise

While matcha represents a cornerstone of their offerings, Rishi’s expertise extends across the entire tea spectrum. Their portfolio includes:

  • Loose leaf teas spanning black, green, oolong, white, and pu’er varieties
  • Ready-to-drink options including tea concentrates and sparkling botanicals
  • Curated teaware and matcha-specific preparation tools
  • Educational resources and recipe guides for tea exploration

This breadth of knowledge informs their matcha production, drawing on deep understanding of tea cultivation, processing, and preparation techniques. Rishi Tea doesn’t just sell matcha—they share decades of accumulated wisdom about what makes exceptional green tea powder. Their commitment to organic certification and kosher standards demonstrates that quality assurance extends beyond taste to encompass environmental and dietary considerations that matter to conscious consumers.

About the Rishi Tea Matcha

Rishi Tea & Botanicals offers Organic Barista Matcha, a culinary-grade powder crafted for modern beverage applications.

Barista Matcha

It is designed to blend seamlessly into lattes, smoothies, and other preparations for cafe-quality drinks served hot or iced, with a clean ingredient profile of only organic green tea.

Processing and Sourcing

Rishi stone-mills shade-grown green tea, called tencha, into an ultra-fine powder. The tencha is harvested once a year between May and June and grown exclusively for matcha. Through direct-trade relationships with master artisans and organic farmers in Japan, Rishi sources super-premium spring-harvest cultivars, and the shading process develops the powder's vivid green color, umami sweetness, and elevated L-theanine content.

Harvest location

Rishi Tea's Organic Barista Matcha originates from Kagoshima Prefecture on Kyushu Island, Japan's southernmost main island. Kagoshima is known for meticulously kept tea gardens and growers who follow strict standards, one of Japan's premier tea regions. Rishi partners directly with organic farmers in Japan through its direct trade programme, including in regions such as Uji near Kyoto.

Shading and harvest

Plants for matcha are shaded for three to four weeks before harvest, a technique known as oishita saibai that blocks sunlight to boost chlorophyll and enhance L-theanine and amino acids, developing the vivid green colour and umami-rich profile. Harvest occurs once a year, May through June. Some tencha may be machine-harvested, but the highest grades are hand-picked for the youngest, most tender leaves.

Processing

After harvest the leaves are steamed to halt oxidation, then dried and sorted, with stems and veins removed. The tencha is finally stone-ground into an ultra-fine powder.

Rishi Tea History

Rishi Tea was founded in 1995 by Joshua Adam Kaiser as a specialty tea company sourcing premium teas directly from artisan growers.

Growth

  • 2000 — Developed direct trade partnerships with master artisans across China and Japan.
  • 2010 — Expanded its commitment to organic methods and sustainable farming.
  • 2015 — Deepened matcha expertise, partnering with farmers in Kagoshima.
  • 2020 — Launched the Garden Direct program.
January 1, 1995

Company Founded by Joshua Kaiser

Joshua Adam Kaiser established Rishi Tea as a specialty tea company focused on sourcing premium teas directly from artisan growers, beginning the company's decades-long commitment to direct trade relationships.

January 1, 2000

Direct Trade Partnerships Established

Rishi Tea began developing its signature direct trade approach, establishing partnerships with master tea artisans across China and Japan's premier tea-growing regions, ensuring fair practices and exceptional quality.

January 1, 2010

Organic Certification and Sustainable Focus

The company expanded its commitment to organic methods and sustainable farming practices, working exclusively with certified organic tea gardens and implementing environmentally responsible sourcing standards.

January 1, 2015

Matcha Expertise Development

Rishi Tea deepened its specialization in traditional matcha cultivation and processing, partnering with Japanese farmers in Kagoshima Prefecture to source premium tencha leaves and develop expertise in the traditional 3-4 week shading process.

January 1, 2020

Garden Direct Program Launch

Launched the Garden Direct program to bring exclusive, super-premium tea cultivars directly from organic farmers, further strengthening direct relationships and ensuring the highest quality single-origin and blended teas reach consumers.

Frequently asked questions

Here are some frequently asked questions and answers.

What makes Rishi Tea's Organic Barista Matcha different from their ceremonial grades?

Rishi's Organic Barista Matcha is specifically crafted for modern culinary applications rather than traditional tea ceremonies. This Kagoshima Prefecture matcha is designed to blend seamlessly into lattes, smoothies, and cafe-style beverages, offering excellent solubility and flavor balance when mixed with milk or other ingredients.

Unlike ceremonial-grade matcha meant for whisking with water alone, this Everyday Matcha formulation maintains its vibrant color and umami characteristics even when combined with dairy or plant-based milks, making it ideal for baristas and home coffee enthusiasts.

Why does Rishi Tea source their Organic Barista Matcha from Kagoshima instead of the more famous Uji region?

Rishi Tea partners with organic tea farmers in Kagoshima Prefecture on Kyushu Island because this region offers exceptional terroir for their specific quality standards. While Uji near Kyoto is historically renowned, Kagoshima's tea gardens provide the ideal growing conditions for Rishi's super-premium cultivars harvested exclusively in spring.

Their direct trade relationships with Kagoshima artisans ensure:

  • Strict organic cultivation methods
  • Traditional 3-4 week shading process
  • Sustainable farming practices aligned with Rishi's values
  • Consistent supply of their proprietary matcha blend

How many calories are in Rishi Tea's Organic Barista Matcha serving?

A standard 2-gram serving of Rishi's Organic Barista Matcha contains just 5 calories, along with 65mg of sodium and 1g of carbohydrates. This makes it an excellent low-calorie base for creating matcha lattes and smoothies without significantly impacting your daily caloric intake.

What does Rishi Tea mean by their 'direct trade' partnerships for matcha sourcing?

Rishi Tea's direct trade approach means they work directly with master tea artisans in Japan's tea-growing regions, bypassing traditional middlemen and importers. For their Organic Barista Matcha, this involves long-term partnerships with organic farmers in Kagoshima Prefecture who specialize in the traditional tencha cultivation process.

These relationships ensure fair compensation for growers, maintain quality control from garden to package, and allow Rishi to source exclusive super-premium cultivars that aren't available through conventional tea trading channels. This direct connection also supports sustainable farming practices and preserves traditional Japanese tea-making techniques.

Can I use Rishi's Organic Barista Matcha for traditional tea ceremonies?

While Rishi's Organic Barista Matcha is high-quality and organic, it's specifically formulated as an Everyday Matcha designed for culinary applications rather than traditional chanoyu (tea ceremony). This Kagoshima-sourced matcha excels in lattes, smoothies, and cafe-style preparations where it maintains excellent flavor and color when mixed with other ingredients.

For authentic tea ceremony experiences, you'd want to look for Rishi's ceremonial-grade options that are stone-ground specifically for whisking with water alone and drinking in the traditional manner.