Provenance you can read. Built at the layer where origin is still visible.
Most matcha sold in the US arrives without verifiable origin, cultivar, or grade. The trade has lived with this gap for decades because closing it was hard — and the cost is paid by farmers who can't earn a premium for the lots they should, and by buyers who can't trust the claim on the tin. MUSUBI is closing that gap one verified lot at a time, starting with producers we know in Yame, Uji, Nishio, and Kagoshima.
Twice-monthly essays, producer profiles, and pilot updates. Free. No marketing emails.
Prefer a direct intro? Email brian@musubi.farm.
A free, twice-monthly working journal on matcha provenance, cultivar, pricing, and the people growing it. Honest, technical, no marketing fluff.
Decomposing the matcha markup — and the $30 of it that exists only because nobody can verify what's in the tin.
Everything in your producer's certificate of analysis — and the omissions that hide more than the entries reveal.
Samidori, Asahi, Okumidori, Saemidori, Yabukita — what each tastes like, what each is good for, and why your supplier may not actually know which one is in the tin.
Three short paths, depending on what you do. No commitment, no pitch.
Running a matcha program? We're talking to thirty US cafés through July about how matcha gets sourced today. No sales pitch — we don't have product yet. Findings shared with everyone interviewed.
Book a callTencha grower, cooperative, or vertically-integrated estate? We'd love to be in touch about export pilots. Reach out in English or Japanese — we'll route through a translator if needed.
Send an introDrink matcha, work in specialty tea or coffee, or just curious about the industry transparency story? Free, twice-monthly, unsubscribe in one click.
SubscribeMUSUBI is being built from Minnesota by Brian and team, with the goal of closing the provenance and verification gap on Japan-origin matcha entering the US specialty market. The thesis is that roughly a third of US matcha retail price today is a transparency tax — risk premium absorbed at every layer of the chain because nobody can verify what's in the tin. Better information closes that gap and routes more value back to the producers who already do the work.
Working in public from day one. Producer database, essays, and pilot results are published as they happen. Corrections and suggestions are welcome. We look forward to building relationships and building an informed marketplace community for our favorite matcha.
— Brian, founder