| Chado / Sado | 茶道 | The way of tea. The study and philosophy surrounding the ceremony. |
| Chanoyu | 茶の湯 | Hot water for tea. The concrete practice of making and serving matcha in a ritual setting. |
| Chashitsu | 茶室 | The tea room. A space designed specifically for chanoyu. |
| Chawan | 茶碗 | The bowl matcha is made and drunk in. |
| Chasen | 茶筅 | The bamboo whisk used to make matcha. |
| Chashaku | 茶杓 | The bamboo scoop used to measure matcha. |
| Chakin | 茶巾 | The white linen cloth used to wipe the chawan during the ceremony. |
| Fukusa | 袱紗 | The silk cloth used to purify the ritual tools. |
| Gokou | 五光 | A Camellia sinensis cultivar from Uji, the most prized for high-end ceremonial matcha. |
| Hishaku | 柄杓 | The bamboo ladle for water in the formal ceremony. |
| Ichibancha | 一番茶 | The first harvest of the year (April to May). More L-theanine, more chlorophyll, more complexity. The only harvest valid for genuine ceremonial matcha. |
| Ichi-go ichi-e | 一期一会 | One meeting, one chance. The principle of impermanence at the heart of chanoyu. |
| Kaiseki | 懐石 | The light meal served before the koicha in a full chaji. |
| Koicha | 濃茶 | Thick tea. A concentrated preparation of matcha (4 to 6 g in 30 to 40 ml). |
| Kusenaoshi | 茶筅直し | The ceramic stand that dries the chasen while keeping its shape. |
| Natsume | 棗 | The lacquered container the matcha is kept in during the ceremony. |
| Nibancha | 二番茶 | The second annual harvest, in summer. More catechins, less L-theanine. Suitable for everyday premium matcha. |
| Nijiriguchi | 躙口 | The low entrance to the chashitsu, which makes you stoop to come in. |
| Roji | 露地 | The garden leading to the tea room. The word means «dewy path». |
| Saemidori | さえみどり | A cultivar from Kagoshima and Fukuoka. Bright green, refined umami, fresh aroma. |
| Sadō | 茶道 | An alternative pronunciation of chadō, preferred in some samurai tea traditions. |
| Tencha | 碾茶 | Shaded, steamed, dried and de-veined tea leaf. The only ingredient of real matcha, and it skips the rolling that sencha goes through. |
| Tokonoma | 床の間 | The alcove in the tea room where the kakemono hangs and the flowers stand. |
| Tsukubai | 蹲踞 | The low stone basin in the roji where guests wash their hands and mouth. |
| Usucha | 薄茶 | Light tea. The standard preparation of matcha (1.5 to 2 g in 60 to 80 ml). |
| Wabi-sabi | 侘び寂び | The Japanese aesthetic of beauty in the imperfect, the impermanent and the incomplete. |
| Asahi | 朝日 | A classic Uji cultivar from the 1930s. Exceptional creamy texture, hazelnut and butter notes. The masters’ favourite for koicha. |
| Samidori | 早緑 | An Uji cultivar. «Early summer green». Pronounced sweetness, young pea aroma. Widely used in premium blends. |
| Okumidori | おくみどり | A late cultivar from Uji, Nishio and Kagoshima. Deep green, balanced umami, low astringency. |
| Yabukita | やぶきた | Japan’s most widespread cultivar (~75% of national production). Selected in Shizuoka in the 1950s for its productivity. |
| Camellia sinensis | 茶 | The botanical species all the world’s teas come from. The sinensis variety dominates in Japan, var. assamica in tropical regions. |
| Kabuse | 被せ | The shading technique used on tea fields. The covers cut light by 70 to 90%, forcing production of L-theanine and chlorophyll. |
| Aracha | 荒茶 | Raw tea before refining. Tencha halfway between the steamed leaf and the product ready to grind. |
| Shincha | 新茶 | The first kilos of ichibancha of the year. Exceptional ceremonial and commercial value on the Japanese market. |
| Sanbancha | 三番茶 | The third harvest, in autumn. More bitter. Used mainly for culinary or entry-grade matcha. |
| Mushi | 蒸し | Steaming the leaves immediately after picking. It stops oxidation and fixes the green colour and fresh aromas of the tencha. |
| Ishi-usu | 石臼 | The traditional granite mill. It produces 40 to 80 g an hour, in 5 to 10 micron particles, at 40 °C at most. |
| Kanso | 乾燥 | Drying the tencha after steaming, in dry-heat ovens at a controlled temperature. |
| Gogumi | 合組 | The art of blending: mixing matchas from different cultivars or regions to get a profile that stays constant year to year. |
| Honcha | 本茶 | Uji matcha declared «genuine tea» in the medieval period. The origin of the Uji region’s historic status. |
| L-theanine | テアニン | An amino acid unique to tea, responsible for umami and sweetness. It counterbalances caffeine, producing calm and focus at once. |
| EGCG | エピガロカテキンガレート | Epigallocatechin gallate. The most abundant catechin in matcha. More concentrated in the shaded first harvest. |
| Catechins | カテキン | Polyphenols responsible for bitterness and astringency. More abundant in late and unshaded harvests. EGCG is the main one. |
| Chlorophyll | クロロフィル | The plant pigment behind the deep green of ceremonial matcha. Shading forces its production to compensate for the missing light. |
| Theobromine | テオブロミン | An alkaloid in matcha with a gentler, longer stimulant effect than caffeine. It contributes to the «clean energy» people describe. |
| Chakodate | 茶子立て | A ceramic rest for the chashaku during the ceremony. It lets you set it down elegantly, without touching the surface. |
| Kama | 釜 | The cast iron kettle the water heats in. The sound of it coming to the boil is a deliberate part of the chanoyu experience. |
| Furo | 風炉 | A portable brazier used in the warm months (May to October). In winter it gives way to the ro, set into the floor. |
| Ro | 炉 | A hearth sunk into the tea room floor, used in the cold months (November to April). Setting it and removing it are seasonal rituals. |
| Mizusashi | 水指し | A ceramic or lacquer vessel for cold water. It is used during the ceremony to adjust the temperature of the water in the kama. |
| Kobukusa | 古帛紗 | A small silk cloth the guest uses to receive the chawan. It makes the gesture more elegant and shields the hands from the heat. |
| Futaoki | 蓋置き | A rest for the kama lid and the hishaku. One of the most delicate pieces in the formal set. |
| Chaire | 茶入 | A ceramic container for matcha in formal koicha ceremonies. More elaborate than the natsume, usually with a silk pouch (shifuku). |
| Shifuku | 仕服 | A woven silk pouch that protects and wraps the chaire. Considered a textile artwork, it is handed down and collected. |
| Machiai | 待合 | The waiting room where guests wait before being led into the roji and the chashitsu. |
| Kakemono | 掛け物 | A scroll hung in the tokonoma, calligraphy or painting. The host chooses it to convey the spirit of the ceremony. |
| Chabana | 茶花 | The minimal flower arrangement of the chashitsu. One or two wild flowers in a plain vessel, following the wabi principle. |
| Tatami | 畳 | A mat of compressed rice straw covered in rush. It forms the traditional Japanese floor and is the unit of measure for tea rooms. |
| Mono no aware | 物の哀れ | An awareness of the impermanence of things, part sadness and part appreciation. A central concept in Japanese aesthetics, tied to wabi-sabi. |
| Mushin | 無心 | The state of «no-mind». In chanoyu, performing the gestures from mushin means acting without conscious calculation, in full presence. |
| Ma | 間 | Empty space, the pause, deliberate silence. In the ceremony, the moments of non-action matter as much as the rest. |
| Shokunin kishitsu | 職人気質 | The artisan’s spirit. Total dedication to mastering a craft without seeking recognition. The foundation of tea and ceramic culture. |
| Kintsugi | 金継ぎ | The art of repairing broken ceramics with lacquer and gold powder. The mended crack becomes the most valuable part of the piece. |
| En | 縁 | Connection or affinity between people. In chanoyu, every meeting is a unique moment of en that deserves full attention. |
| Iemoto | 家元 | The grand master who inherits a Japanese school of art. In sadō, each sansenke’s iemoto is the ultimate keeper of the tradition. |
| Sansenke | 三千家 | The three tea houses descended from Sen no Rikyū: Urasenke, Omotesenke and Mushanokōjisenke. |
| Sōtan | 宗旦 | Sen no Rikyū’s grandson (1578-1658) and founder of the three houses. The second great reformer of sadō after his grandfather. |
| Murata Jukō | 村田珠光 | A tea master (1423-1502) who brought wabi into the ceremony. The direct forerunner of Sen no Rikyū’s aesthetic. |
| Takeno Jōō | 武野紹鷗 | A tea master (1502-1555) and Rikyū’s teacher. The bridge between Murata Jukō and Rikyū’s definitive codification of wabi. |
| Furuta Oribe | 古田織部 | A disciple of Rikyū (1544-1615). He developed the Oribe style, more dynamic and asymmetric, which gave its name to oribe ceramics. |
| Chaji | 茶事 | The full ceremony: kaiseki, koicha and usucha. It lasts 3 to 4 hours for 2 to 5 people. The most formal format of chanoyu. |
| Chakai | 茶会 | An informal tea gathering. Usucha and wagashi only. 45 to 60 minutes. The most common format at cultural events and demonstrations. |
| Temae | 点前 | The set of formal movements for making matcha. Each school has its own temae, with their own names and protocols. |
| Raku | 楽 | A sixteenth-century ceramic style developed by Chōjirō with Rikyū. No wheel, low firing, no uniform glaze. The emblem of wabi. |
| Hagi | 萩 | Ceramics from Yamaguchi. Cream or salmon clay, translucent glaze. It «improves» with use, gradually taking on the colour of the tea. |
| Bizen | 備前 | Unglazed, wood-fired ceramics from Okayama. Orange-brown with fire marks. One of Japan’s six ancient kilns. |
| Oribe | 織部 | Mino ceramics with copper green and brown glaze. Asymmetric geometric patterns developed by Furuta Oribe after Rikyū’s death. |
| Temmoku | 天目 | A dark ceramic chawan with naturally patterned glazes, originally from Mount Tianmu in China. Highly prized in medieval Japan. |
| Wagashi | 和菓子 | Traditional Japanese sweets served with tea. They offset the umami of matcha with a gentle sweetness. An art in their own right. |
| Higashi | 干菓子 | Dry sweets (pressed sugar in seasonal shapes) served with usucha. They keep without refrigeration. |
| Nerikiri | 練り切り | Sweets of white bean paste shaped into artistic forms. The most elaborate wagashi, kept for serving with koicha. |
| Iced matcha | アイスマッチャ | A cold preparation of matcha over ice, with or without milk. The format that has driven matcha’s global popularity more than any other. |
| Matcha latte | マッチャラテ | Matcha dissolved in hot water and mixed with warm milk. The most consumed format in speciality coffee shops across Europe. |
| Particle size | 粒度 | The particle size of ground matcha. Ceremonial grade is 5 to 10 microns. The finer it is, the silkier the texture and the better the foam. |
| Jingshan | 径山 | An eighth-century Chinese temple where the monk Eisai learned about powdered tea in the twelfth. Considered the historic origin of Japanese chanoyu. |
| Dian cha | 點茶 | The Chinese Song method: whisking powdered tea with water in a bowl. The technique Eisai took to Japan, and the source of ceremonial matcha. |
| Uji | 宇治 | A town south of Kyoto and the world benchmark region for ceremonial matcha. The Uji river valley, Gokou, Asahi and Samidori cultivars. |
| Nishio | 西尾 | A city in Aichi, Japan’s second growing region. It supplies ~40% of Japanese matcha. A softer, steadier profile than Uji. |
| Yame | 八女 | A region of Fukuoka known for gyokuro. Its matchas have a character of their own: floral aroma, pronounced sweetness, very low astringency. |
| Kagoshima | 鹿児島 | The fastest growing region in Kyushu. Volcanic soils. Okumidori and Saemidori cultivars. A fresh, lively profile. |
| Wazuka | 和束 | A sub-region of Uji, in Kyoto. One of the valleys with the highest concentration of tencha fields in Japan. Where The Japanese Tea Hub matcha comes from. |
| Guizhou | 貴州省 | An emerging Chinese province in matcha production. Jiangkou County exported more than 1,200 tonnes in 2024 to 44 countries. A colour profile close to the Japanese. |
| JAS | 日本農林規格 | Japanese Agricultural Standard. The Japanese government’s organic standard, equivalent to EU Organic. It certifies production without synthetic pesticides or fertilisers. |
| Hikuji | 挽き茶 | A historic term for matcha. Literally «ground tea». Used in classical Japanese texts of the Muromachi period. |
| Furui | 茶漉し | A fine stainless steel sieve (0.1 to 0.3 mm) that breaks up lumps in matcha before whisking. It ensures an even dispersion in the water. |
| Usucha grade | 薄茶グレード | A quality classification saying a matcha is fit for usucha (light tea). The minimum standard for everyday ceremonial use. |
