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Tea names
A packet marked Uji-cha does not mean the leaf all grew in Kyoto. What a tea name guarantees depends on what stands behind it, and that differs from name to name. They are grouped here by which scheme that is — a Geographical Indication, a regional collective trademark, a regional association's definition, or the industry labeling standard alone. It is not a ranking.
Registered as a Geographical Indication
A statutory scheme with a public register at the ministry, checkable by registration number and date. What each name requires is set out in its own registration document.
Yame Dento HongyokuroGeographical Indication
- What the name is
- The first tea registered as a Geographical Indication. It does not mean Yame tea in general — only gyokuro made the traditional way.
- What it takes to use it
- Registration No. 5 in the ministry's register, dated 22 December 2015. GI is a statutory scheme: only tea meeting the registered specification may use the name. What that specification requires is set out in the product's own registration document.
- What to expect
- A gyokuro with the covering scent well forward. It assumes the cool, slow, small-volume way of brewing.
Fukamushi Kikugawa-chaGeographical Indication
- What the name is
- Deep-steamed sencha from Kikugawa in Shizuoka, registered as a Geographical Indication. Unusually, the processing method is part of the protected name.
- What it takes to use it
- Registration No. 130, dated 31 March 2023. The name carries both a place and a method, though what the specification actually requires is set out in the registration document.
- What to expect
- Deep-steamed, so the liquor is dark and a little cloudy, with soft astringency.
Nihoncha (Japanese tea)Geographical Indication
- What the name is
- In July 2026 the term 'Japanese tea' itself was registered as a Geographical Indication — not a single region's name, but one covering the country.
- What it takes to use it
- Registration No. 179, dated 10 July 2026. What makes it unlike the other tea registrations is its scope: the whole country rather than one region. The requirements are set out in the registration document.
- What to expect
- Not a flavor marker: it does not narrow down a region or a method the way the other names here do.
Registered as a regional collective trademark
Registered at the patent office — a separate legal scheme from GI. It secures exclusive use of a name; it is not a mechanism for setting product standards.
Nishio no MatchaRegional collective trademark
- What the name is
- Matcha from Nishio in Aichi. A major tencha region, and a common source for confectionery and drinks as well as for drinking.
- What it takes to use it
- Registered as a regional collective trademark. Some material describes it as GI-registered, but it does not appear in the ministry's register of Geographical Indications (checked August 2026). Trademarks and GI are separate schemes.
- What to expect
- Matcha milled from shade-grown tencha. Both drinking and culinary grades circulate widely, so pick for the use you have in mind.
Defined by a regional body
Not law, but an agreement set by a regional association. What it covers may not match what the name suggests.
Uji-chaDefined by a regional body
- What the name is
- Kyoto's headline name. The word suggests Kyoto leaf and nothing else, but the definition does not say that.
- What it takes to use it
- The Kyoto Prefectural Tea Association set the definition in 2004: tea from four prefectures — Kyoto, Nara, Shiga and Mie — finished by a Kyoto business inside Kyoto, with Kyoto-grown leaf given priority. So Uji-cha is defined by where it is finished as much as by where it grew, and is not necessarily 100% Kyoto.
- What to expect
- Gyokuro and tencha country, so shaded tea weighs heavily in what carries the name. It is usually described as leaning savory.
No scheme of their own
No scheme of their own. The industry labeling standard's regional-name rule applies: only 100% leaf from the region may carry the plain name. That rule can also overlap names that do have a GI or a trademark.
Chiran-chaIndustry labeling standard only
- What the name is
- The tea name of Minamikyushu city in Kagoshima. It is one of the few cases here where the tea name and the prefecture name do not match.
- What it takes to use it
- Minamikyushu city was formed in 2007 from the towns of Chiran, Kawanabe and Ei, and in April 2017 their three tea names were consolidated as Chiran-cha. It is the largest tea-producing municipality in Japan. The older names still appear occasionally; each belonged to one of the former towns that now make up the city.
- What to expect
- Mostly deep-steamed, and one of the easiest places to find tea sold by cultivar. It is generally described as dark in the cup and strongly savory.
Shizuoka-chaIndustry labeling standard only
- What the name is
- A headline name by both output and recognition — but the prefecture makes tea in two opposite styles, so the name alone does not narrow the flavor.
- What it takes to use it
- No special definition; the industry labeling standard's regional-name rule applies. Only 100% Shizuoka leaf may be sold plainly as Shizuoka-cha. From 50% up to but not including 100% it must be marked as a blend with the share shown, and below 50% the regional name cannot be used.
- What to expect
- Look for the district inside the prefecture. Kawane and Honyama mean mountain light-steamed tea made for aroma; Kakegawa and Makinohara mean deep-steamed and dark.
Sayama-chaIndustry labeling standard only
- What the name is
- Saitama's name. It sits well north for tea and does not produce much. What it is known for is a heavier hand at the final firing.
- What it takes to use it
- No separate definition from a regional body; the industry labeling standard's regional-name rule applies.
- What to expect
- The heavy finish known as sayama-bi is associated with toasted character and body — a thicker cup with more grip.
Ureshino-chaIndustry labeling standard only
- What the name is
- Saga's name. What it makes is mostly tamaryokucha rather than sencha, and the leaf shape differs from the start.
- What it takes to use it
- The industry labeling standard's regional-name rule applies. That the tea is tamaryokucha comes from the same standard's definitions of tea types.
- What to expect
- Leaf curled into comma shapes. Softer in the mouth than sencha, with astringency that arrives gently.
Ise-chaIndustry labeling standard only
- What the name is
- Mie's name. Output is among the country's highest, yet the name has long been described as one that rarely reaches the shelf.
- What it takes to use it
- The industry labeling standard's regional-name rule applies.
- What to expect
- The north of the prefecture leans to kabusecha and the savory side; the south is mostly deep-steamed sencha. One name, two characters.
Sonogi-chaIndustry labeling standard only
- What the name is
- Centred on Higashisonogi in Nagasaki. Like Ureshino, mostly steamed tamaryokucha.
- What it takes to use it
- The industry labeling standard's regional-name rule applies.
- What to expect
- Curled leaf and a soft mouthfeel. It takes a little longer to open in the pot than sencha does.
Murakami-chaIndustry labeling standard only
- What the name is
- From Murakami in Niigata, known as one of the northernmost places tea is grown commercially in Japan.
- What it takes to use it
- The industry labeling standard's regional-name rule applies.
- What to expect
- Slow growth in a cold place is the usual explanation for its soft astringency and perceptible sweetness. Output is small and mostly drunk locally.
Kaga BochaIndustry labeling standard only
- What the name is
- Ishikawa's name — and unusually, it names a method rather than a place: roasted stems.
- What it takes to use it
- Being a method name rather than a regional one, it sits differently from the labeling standard's regional-name rule. 'Bocha' means roasted stem tea.
- What to expect
- Lightly roasted, so the liquor is pale while the aroma is strong — the color is a poor guide to the strength. It is usually brewed with water off the boil, kept short.
Yamato-chaIndustry labeling standard only
- What the name is
- Nara's name, grown on the cool Yamato plateau in what is held to be one of the older tea areas in Japan.
- What it takes to use it
- The industry labeling standard's regional-name rule applies.
- What to expect
- High ground and late picking. Mostly sencha and kabusecha.
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