The Leaf — Maker review
Rocky's Matcha: how to read the lineup
Rocky's Matcha was founded in 2022 by Rocky Xu as a traveling tea house — pop-ups in Los Angeles, Miami, Paris and Tokyo — and it sells tins blended for it by named Japanese producers. Its product pages do something the old Kyoto houses do not: they name the cultivar on every tin, the region on every tin, and the farm on most. What they do not do is define the 'ceremonial grade' printed on all of them, or say anything about testing.
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In short
- Every Rocky's tin names its cultivars and region — Yame, Uji, Kagoshima, Shizuoka, Wazuka — and most name the producer: Osada Tea, Horii Shichimeien, Sugimoto Tea, Nakai Organic Tea Farm.
- 'Ceremonial Grade' appears on every matcha and is never defined; harvest is stated only on a few tins; nothing on the site addresses lab testing, resellers or Amazon.
- Ships worldwide by DHL Express; no purchase limits stated; no official Amazon presence.
Which Rocky’s Matcha should you buy? The short answer
Read the cultivar and the producer, which Rocky's prints on every tin, and ignore the grade word, which it prints on every tin too. The Signature blend is a four-cultivar Yame blend for everyday usucha and lattes; the Horii Shichimeien blend is first-harvest Kyoto tencha, machine-milled, for the bowl; the single cultivars — Okumidori, Koshun, Narino — are for tasting one plant at a time. Nothing on the site says whether any of it is tested.
The brand
Rocky’s is a US direct-to-consumer brand, founded by Rocky Xu in 2022, that describes itself as a traveling tea house and has run pop-ups in Los Angeles, Miami, Paris and Tokyo. It does not grow or mill tea. It works with named Japanese producers — Osada Tea in Shizuoka and Kagoshima, Horii Shichimeien in Uji, Sugimoto Tea in Kagoshima, Nakai Organic Tea Farm in Wazuka — and sells their blends and single cultivars under its own tin, direct and through stockists. Collaboration tins with cafés and shops come and go; several were sold out in September 2026.
The lineup
| Tin | Cultivars | Region / producer | Formats | Stated harvest and milling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Signature Ceremonial Blend | Okumidori, Saemidori, Okuyutaka, Tsuyuhikari | Yame, Fukuoka | 20 g, 100 g | — |
| Osada Ceremonial Blend | Okumidori, Yutakamidori | Kagoshima, Miyazaki, Shizuoka / Osada Tea | 20 g, 100 g | — |
| Horii Shichimeien Ceremonial Blend | Yabukita, Samidori | Uji / Horii Shichimeien | 20 g, 100 g | First-harvest tencha grown within Kyoto Prefecture; machine-milled |
| Single Cultivar Okumidori | Okumidori | Osada Tea (page says Kagoshima; spec says Shizuoka) | 20 g | — |
| Single Cultivar Koshun | Koshun | Shizuoka / Osada Tea | 20 g | — |
| Single Cultivar Narino | Narino | Uji, Myoraku / Horii Shichimeien | 20 g | Stone-milled |
| Organic Sugimoto Okumidori | Okumidori | Kagoshima / Sugimoto Tea, single farm | 20 g | First harvest; shaded over a week at elevation; organic |
| Organic Nakai Okumidori | Okumidori | Wazuka, Kyoto / Nakai Organic Tea Farm | 20 g | Stone-milled; JAS organic |
| Daily Ceremonial Blend, single-serve | Okumidori, Yabukita, Okuyutaka, Saemidori | Yame | 10 × 3 g | — |
| Houjicha | — | — | 20 g, 100 g | Roasted; not matcha |
Source: rockysmatcha.com product pages, September 2026. A dash means the page does not state it. The Okumidori single cultivar's page text and spec bullet disagree on region.
What Rocky’s discloses, and what it does not
Discloses. Cultivar on every matcha, which almost no importer and none of the Kyoto houses do. Region on every matcha. The producer on most — and these are real names: Horii Shichimeien is the Uji house that tends the garden said to be the last of the seven medieval tea gardens; Osada Tea is a Shizuoka grower and processor; Nakai is a certified organic farm in Wazuka. Harvest and milling on some: the Horii blend is first-harvest Kyoto tencha and machine-milled, which is an unusually candid thing to print; the Narino and Nakai tins are stone-milled; the Sugimoto Okumidori is first harvest and shaded for over a week.
Does not disclose. Harvest for most tins. Shading for all but one. Any lab testing: no heavy-metal, pesticide or radiation statement appears anywhere on the product or policy pages. Any position on resellers, counterfeits or Amazon. Any definition of the grade word it prints on everything.
The pattern is the mirror image of the Kyoto houses. Ippodo and Marukyu Koyamaen tell you the use and the house and withhold the field; Rocky’s tells you the field and the plant and withholds the use, beyond the one word. For a buyer who wants to taste cultivars, Rocky’s is one of the few brands that lets you; for a buyer who wants a lab report, it offers nothing.
The grade word
“Ceremonial Grade” is a spec bullet on every Rocky’s matcha, and the About page says the company specializes in ceremonial grade matcha. The term is not defined anywhere on the site, and “culinary” does not appear. Since every tin carries the same label, it distinguishes nothing within the range; the cultivar, producer and price do that. Treat the label as the brand’s way of saying “for drinking,” and read the rest of the bullet list.
Availability and buying
Rocky’s sells from its own site and through named stockists. It ships domestically and internationally, the latter by DHL Express with duties and taxes for the buyer; orders above a threshold ship free in the United States; large orders require a signature. No purchase limits tied to the shortage are stated, and no official Amazon storefront was found — a search returns unrelated brands — and the brand says nothing about resellers. Several tins were sold out in September 2026, including all the collaboration tins, and the 100 g Osada blend.
Which tin, for which bowl
| You make | Look at | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Usucha, every day | Signature blend; Daily packets | Four-cultivar Yame blends; the packets are 3 g each, a slightly full bowl |
| Usucha, Kyoto-style | Horii Shichimeien blend | First-harvest Kyoto tencha, Yabukita and Samidori; machine-milled |
| A latte | Signature blend; Osada blend | Blends with body; the Daily packet shaken with ice is the brand’s own iced method |
| Tasting one cultivar | Okumidori, Koshun, Narino | Single cultivars; Narino is the rare one, from Uji and stone-milled |
| Organic | Sugimoto Okumidori, Nakai Okumidori | The two organic tins; first harvest stated on the Sugimoto |
What the tin does not tell you
Whether it was tested. The site is silent, and silence is not a result either way. If this matters to you, ask the brand; a serious one will answer.
Which harvest, on most tins. First harvest is stated for the Horii blend and the organic Okumidori tins; assume nothing for the rest.
What “ceremonial” means here. Nothing defined. The cultivars are the information.
Numbers and facts at a glance
- Founded: 2022, by Rocky Xu; a US brand with Japanese producers.
- Discloses: cultivar and region on every tin; producer on most; harvest and milling on some.
- Producers named: Osada Tea, Horii Shichimeien, Sugimoto Tea, Nakai Organic Tea Farm.
- Cultivars used: Okumidori, Saemidori, Okuyutaka, Tsuyuhikari, Yutakamidori, Yabukita, Samidori, Koshun, Narino.
- Grade terms: “Ceremonial Grade” on every matcha, undefined; no “culinary.”
- Testing: nothing published. Affiliate: none stated. Amazon: no official presence; no reseller statement.
- Serving (packets): 3 g in 60–150 ml at about 80°C, whisked in a W or shaken with ice.
Sources
- Ippodo Tea — official site — Ippodo Tea
- Marukyu Koyamaen — official site — Marukyu Koyamaen
- Rocky's Matcha — official site — Rocky's Matcha
Questions people actually ask
Where is Rocky's Matcha from?
The brand is American, founded by Rocky Xu in 2022; the tea is Japanese, from named producers. The Signature Ceremonial Blend is from Yame in Fukuoka; the Osada blend and single cultivars from Osada Tea in Shizuoka and Kagoshima; the Horii Shichimeien blend and Narino single cultivar from Uji; the organic Okumidori tins from Sugimoto in Kagoshima and Nakai Organic Tea Farm in Wazuka, Kyoto.
Is Rocky's Matcha ceremonial grade?
Every Rocky's matcha carries 'Ceremonial Grade' as a label, and the About page says the company specializes in it. The term has no definition in Japan and Rocky's does not define it either; it does not use 'culinary grade' at all. What the tins do state — cultivar, region, and often the producer — is more informative than the label.
Which cultivars does Rocky's use?
Okumidori, Saemidori, Okuyutaka and Tsuyuhikari in the Signature blend; Okumidori and Yutakamidori in the Osada blend; Yabukita and Samidori in the Horii Shichimeien blend; single cultivars Okumidori, Koshun and Narino; Okumidori, Yabukita, Okuyutaka and Saemidori in the Daily single-serve packets.
Does Rocky's Matcha test for lead or heavy metals?
The site does not say. No heavy-metal, pesticide or radiation statement appears on its product or policy pages. Two tins are organic (the Sugimoto and Nakai Okumidori); the rest are conventional.
Is Rocky's Matcha on Amazon?
No official storefront was found, and the brand makes no statement about Amazon or resellers. It sells from its own site and through named stockists, and ships internationally by DHL Express with duties paid by the buyer.
How does Rocky's say to make it?
For the single-serve packets: one packet (3 g) with 2–5 ounces of water at 175°F, whisked in a W, or shaken with ice. That is 60–150 ml at about 80°C — the standard bowl at the low end, a thin one at the high end.
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