Shimane (Izumo and Matsue)
Small as a growing region, dense as a drinking one. Matsue keeps tea ceremony close to daily life and is known for how much matcha and wagashi it gets through. The Izumo area also carries botebote-cha, a tea of the common people rather than the tea room.
Land and climate
The Japan Sea side, overcast through winter, with picking on the late side. The character of the place is consumption rather than production.
How it is made
In Matsue the utensils of tea ceremony and the sweets that go with them have been handed down together. Botebote-cha belongs to the furicha tradition — tea whisked to a foam — with rice and pickles piled on top, so it is eaten as much as drunk. Accounts of its origin differ; one holds it was a working food of the tatara ironworkers.
Cultivars
What to look for
Local merchants tend to carry matcha and wagashi together, which makes it an easy place to pick a first usucha-grade matcha. Botebote-cha is sold as a set with its own tea and toppings.