Japanese reading: cha nouka

A producer who cultivates and harvests tea leaves and manufactures aracha (primary processed tea) for shipment. In Uji, many growers are not exclusively tea farmers and may also cultivate other crops.

Japanese reading: jisha nouen

A tea garden owned and managed by a tea manufacturer or a seller, where harvested leaves are used as raw material for its own branded products. In Uji, cultivation and manufacturing have historically been specialised and separated, so fully integrated operations from cultivation to finished products are relatively rare.

Japanese reading: aracha kakou (ichiji kakou)

The processing step that turns fresh leaves into aracha and has a major impact on final quality. For tencha, leaves are dried using a dedicated dryer (tencha-ro). The toasted aroma produced in this step is called “motobi” and is an important factor in tencha evaluation; it requires careful adjustment because both excessive and insufficient motobi can reduce quality.

Japanese reading: seicha donya

A business that purchases aracha and produces finished tea through secondary processing and blending. For matcha, it further processes primary tencha into finished tencha, blends multiple lots, and mills them to produce the final product.

While “tonya(donya)” in Japanese often refers to a distributor, a tea manufacturer typically performs raw material selection, processing, and quality design, functioning closer to a manufacturer in practice.

Japanese reading: kyousou nyusatsu

One method of trading aracha at tea markets operated by JA (Japan Agricultural Co-operatives), typically conducted as an auction where multiple buyers bid on listed lots.

Competitive bidding for tencha is currently rare outside Kyoto Prefecture, so Kyoto auction prices often serve as a benchmark for aracha transactions nationwide.

In addition to JA auctions, aracha is also traded via direct negotiated transactions between sellers and buyers. Auction volume is estimated to account for around 60% of total handling.

Fig. Competitive Auction Venue in Uji

Japanese reading: aitai torihiki

A trading method in which tea growers and tea manufacturers negotiate directly without using a competitive auction.

Price, quantity, and other terms are agreed by the parties. Transaction practices vary by region; for example, in Shizuoka, a major production area, negotiated trades mediated by brokers are common.

Japanese reading: mochikomi

A form of direct transaction (also called “iritsuke”) in which a tea grower delivers aracha to a tea manufacturer and sells it directly.

There is no third-party intermediary such as a broker, and the arrangement is typically based on an established relationship of trust.

Japanese reading: chokuei ten

A retail store or café operated directly by a tea manufacturer or a tea grower. Historically, these often served as “flagship” locations to communicate a brand’s identity. In recent years, with rising global matcha demand, they are increasingly positioned as part of business expansion strategies.

Japanese reading: chokuhan

A sales approach in which growers or tea manufacturers sell directly to end users without intermediaries such as wholesalers or retailers. MATCHA DIRECT adopts this direct-sales model.

Japanese reading: yusyutsu taiou

Actions taken to sell in overseas markets by managing quality and meeting destination-country/region requirements. Key considerations typically include pesticide residue limits, packaging-material regulations, and tax and customs procedures.

Japanese reading: nougyou kyoudou kumiai

An organisation that manages tea markets and operates competitive bidding systems. It also supports growers through farm guidance, provision of agrochemicals/fertilisers/equipment, and financing. In addition, it can act as a coordinator between the production side and the market side by reflecting requests from tea manufacturers and market operators.

Japanese reading: shusanchi

A region that collects quality tea from across the country, processes and finishes it, and supplies it nationally as a recognised brand. Historically, Uji has been both a collection/processing hub and a production region.

Japanese reading: namaha torihiki

A transaction in which tea growers sell fresh leaves prior to aracha processing to growers who operate tencha facilities or to tea manufacturers.

For tencha, tea manufacturers typically purchase processed tencha (primary-processed tencha), but many growers without tencha facilities may sell as fresh leaves to other facility-holding growers or to tea manufacturers.

This is called fresh leaf trade. In Uji, fresh leaves are called “me”, and such transactions are referred to as “me-kai” (buying) / “me-uri” (selling).

Japanese reading: mekiki

Professional expertise (or a person with that expertise) to evaluate quality and potential, focusing on taste, aroma, and colour. Appraisal may be performed not only on aracha but also at the fresh-leaf stage, and it plays a key role in purchasing decisions and blend design quality.

Japanese reading: hinpyoukai

A collective term in Japan for judging events held to evaluate tea quality and tea-making techniques.

Evaluation commonly considers taste, aroma, colour/lustre, and appearance; major events may include the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award as the top prize.

Tea appraisal events are broadly grouped into two types:

(1) Aracha appraisal events: judging tea up to the primary processing stage after harvest. Participants are mainly producers such as tea growers and primary-processing factories, and evaluation focuses on cultivation management, raw material quality, and primary processing technique.
These are often held by production area, or at regional/national scale (e.g., Kansai Tea Appraisal Event; National Tea Appraisal Event).

(2) Finished tea appraisal events: judging completed tea that has undergone finishing processes such as blending and firing by tea manufacturers/tea merchants.
Evaluation places greater emphasis on finishing technique and the intended flavour profile than on the raw material alone. As participants are mainly tea merchants, events are held nationwide and not limited to production areas (e.g., Uji Tea Appraisal Event; Japan Tea Awards; various wholesaler-led events).
In this type, organisers’ preferences for taste/aroma tend to be reflected in the judging criteria, and the preferred style can differ by region or organising body.

Japanese reading:  puraibeito raberu

A supply model in which matcha is provided as another company’s branded product. Products are commercialised and sold under the client’s brand name, so the manufacturer’s name is not presented prominently. This is also referred to as private label.

Japanese reading: howaito raberu

A supply model in which products such as matcha are provided without branding (plain packaging), with the expectation that the buyer will commercialise and sell under its own brand.

Japanese reading: chiriteki hyouji hogo seido

A system that protects traditional methods and qualities associated with a specific region as intellectual property by managing product names as rights linked to the region.

Internationally, GI systems are a standard framework. In Japan, GI has been developed, but it is not necessarily widely adopted in areas such as Uji and Nishio. In Nishio, the GI registration for “Nishio matcha” was withdrawn. This is also linked to the background that brand protection in Japan has often been established through trademark systems rather than GI systems.

Japanese reading: chiiki dantai syouhyou

A trademark used by a regional organisation consisting of “region name + product name” (e.g., “Uji tea”). It aims to protect regional brands and support local economic vitality.

It is not merely a label; it is a framework for strategic brand management based on acquired trademark rights and helps protect the interests of both the region and businesses. In Uji, which is closely linked to Japanese tea culture and history, multiple regional collective trademarks exist, including “Uji tea”, “Uji matcha”, “Uji tencha”, “Uji sencha”, and “Uji gyokuro”.

Japanese reading: uji matcha

A matcha defined (under the relevant trademark framework) as matcha produced by milling finished tea that has been refined in Kyoto Prefecture by Kyoto-based operators, using methods derived from the Uji region, from tea grown in four prefectures (Kyoto, Nara, Shiga, and Mie). (Kyoto Prefecture Tea Cooperative)

Japanese reading: yame matcha

A matcha defined (under the relevant trademark framework) as matcha finished within Fukuoka Prefecture using aracha produced by tea growers in and around Yame City, Fukuoka Prefecture. (Fukuoka Tea Merchants Cooperative; National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations)

Japanese reading: nisio no matcha

A matcha defined (under the relevant trademark framework) as matcha produced by processing tea leaves grown in Nishio City and Anjo City, Aichi Prefecture, into tencha and finishing/refining it in the same region, then stone-milling it. (Nishio Tea Cooperative)