Noriyasu Uejima

Noriyasu Uejima is a fifth-generation tea master whose work represents the quiet pinnacle of Kyoto tea culture. In Kyoto’s most revered tea tasting competition, he remains the only producer in history to have achieved a perfect score.

From cultivation to processing, his family’s lineage traces back to the mid-19th century, when the Uejima house was established as a branch of an even older tea family.

The techniques he preserves today are not written instructions, but inherited memory shaped by generations of hands, seasons, and repetition. Located in Wazuka, Uejima Tea Farm is guided by his patience: careful shading, deliberate harvest timing, hand picked leaves, and an unwavering refusal to rush what cannot be hurried. Each decision is made with the understanding that excellence is cumulative, built quietly, and leaf by leaf.

Beyond cultivation, Uejima is deeply committed to preservation. He studies historical processing methods alongside modern refinement, ensuring tradition is not frozen in time, but carried forward with intention. His teas are not designed to impress with volume but within a natural harmony of sweetness, umami, and depth.

Those who encounter his tea often describe it as complete. It lingers gently, unfolding rather than announcing itself. In this way, his work mirrors his philosophy: that true mastery does not ask for attention, it simply holds it. Our relationship with producers like Uejima anchors everything Frame stands for. To experience his tea is to step briefly into a lineage carried from his hands, through ours, and finally into yours.

Noriryasu Uejima Matcha