Usucha · entry · Selected harvest
Rikyu
The entry bowl. Classical thin-whisk in the most generous tin.
01clean, quiet finish
02no bitterness to hide behind
03built for every day
Rikyu is named for the 16th-century master, and it is where the lineup begins — though beginning is not the same as lesser. This is the bowl you build a habit on: thin-whisked usucha, no milk, no sweetener, nothing to hide behind. A grade drunk plain has nowhere to put a flaw, which is why the entry tin is the one that has to be cleanest. At 50 grams it is also the largest tin on the card, and that is deliberate. A daily practice needs volume, not preciousness — you should be able to make a bowl on an ordinary Tuesday without feeling you are spending something. Most people who drink matcha every morning are drinking something like this, not something rarer. The quiet, long finish is the whole point: it is the grade that gets out of the way.
Not for
Not for milk — a thin-whisk grade like this disappears under oat or dairy. Reach for Muyu if you're adding milk.
Umami
Bitter
Finish
RM 65
50g tin · ships across Malaysia
The batch
Traceable to the field.
Origin
Uji, Kyoto, Japan
Cultivar
Blended
Harvest
Selected harvest
Mill
Traditional stone-ground in Uji, Japan. Sealed at origin.
Micronage
5–15 microns
Tin size
50g tin
5–15 microns is the widest band on the card because Rikyu is produced at daily-practice scale, not as a single delicate lot. Finer isn't automatically better — this grind is right for a fast usucha whisk. The exact figure is still under owner re-measurement (see tasks/todo.md).
Fresh, crafted. Never rushed.
Spec last reviewed
Where these numbers come from
- Origin · Cultivar · Harvest
- Per supplier batch sheet from the Uji-region co-op (on file at HULU BLAVK).
- Mill · Micronage
- Uji-milled grades: per the supplier's stone-mill QC log. Ritual 003 line: measured at the HULU BLAVK in-bar mill on the day of grind.
- Brew temperatures and dosage (75°C / 70°C usucha + koicha specs)
- HULU BLAVK in-bar serving recipe, calibrated against the ceremonial-grade preparation conventions the bar pulls from.
- Tasting-note dots (umami / bitter / finish)
- HULU BLAVK in-house cupping panel scored on the supplied batch — re-evaluated each new shipment.
- Price · Tin size
- Price pulled live from the HULU BLAVK shop catalogue (Shopify) at page render. Tin size per retail card current as of GRADES_LAST_REVIEWED.
How this grade is drunk
Pour it like this.
- · Hot usucha (2g · 70ml · 75°C)
- · Cold usucha, no milk
Keeping it
How long it holds.
Sealed
Up to 12 months from the mill date printed on the tin, kept cool, dark, and dry.
Opened
2–4 weeks for peak flavour once opened — matcha oxidises on contact with air and light. Reseal tight and keep refrigerated.
The other five
Compare the ladder.
Daily
Wakaba
Early-summer brightness. Vegetal, quick, everyday.
Read →
Koicha
Hikari
The thick-bowl grade. Shaded, fine-ground, slow.
Read →
Milk-forward
Muyu
The top Uji-sealed tin. Holds its edge under oat and whole milk.
Read →
Fresh-mill signature
Ritual 003
Stone-milled in-bar. The observable ritual in a tin.
Read →
Fresh-mill · competition grade
Ritual 003 Champion
Champion-tier tencha, stone-milled in-bar for the reserve bowl.
Read →
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