The Precision of Timing: Two Spirits Behind Sasshu Sekitoba Matcha

KANPAI Makers’ Choices No.05

Upon encountering a spirit made with matcha, one might picture tea powder simply stirred into the finished liquid to impart color and aroma.

Official materials from Hamada Syuzou in Kagoshima describe a different sequence. Kagoshima-grown matcha and green tea are used during fermentation. The fermented mash is then distilled, and the resulting spirit profile is blended with that of Sasshu Sekitoba, an authentic sweet-potato shochu known in Japan as honkaku shochu.

The official ingredient list includes Kagoshima sweet potatoes, domestic rice koji, Kagoshima-grown matcha, and Kagoshima-grown green tea. The published process does not describe matcha being added directly to the finished shochu. Instead, the tea is used in fermentation, after which the fermented mash is distilled. The two spirit profiles are then brought together.

Tea Within the Realm of Honkaku Shochu

Authentic shochu is not limited to rice, barley, and sweet potatoes.

According to Japan’s National Tax Agency, certain designated ingredients may be used alongside grains or tubers, koji, and water during fermentation. Matcha and green tea are included among these designated ingredients.

There is, however, a condition. The combined weight of the designated ingredients must not exceed the combined weight of the grains, tubers, and koji. Using tea alone does not make a spirit honkaku shochu. For Sasshu Sekitoba Matcha, the official product information identifies the product as authentic shochu.

Hamada Syuzou explains that the amount of matcha and green tea, and the timing of their addition, are adjusted according to the qualities of each ingredient. In the process described publicly, tea is therefore an ingredient used from the fermentation stage.

Matcha and Sencha: A Dual Approach

Although the product name highlights “Matcha,” the ingredient list contains both matcha and green tea. The official announcement describes this green tea as sencha.

Hamada Syuzou describes the finished profile in terms of matcha-derived sweetness, gentle bitterness, and depth, together with the refreshing aroma of sencha. Both teas are grown in Kagoshima, yet their amounts and timing are adjusted according to their respective characteristics.

The exact conditions are not public. The available materials do not state precisely when or how much of each tea is used. They also do not explain whether matcha and sencha enter the same mash, known as moromi, or are fermented separately. What can be confirmed is limited to the decision to adjust the amount and timing for the characteristics of each tea.

The Interplay of Fermentation and Distillation

To understand this expression, it is important to follow the order: fermentation comes before distillation.

The National Research Institute of Brewing explains distillation as a process in which a fermented liquid or mash is heated. Alcohol and aromatic compounds become vapor and are then cooled back into liquid. This differs from mixing matcha into a finished shochu.

Hamada Syuzou’s development materials state that low-temperature distillation is used to draw out the character of matcha while balancing it with the aroma and flavor of sweet potato and rice koji. The official product information also lists both atmospheric and vacuum distillation.

Atmospheric distillation takes place at normal pressure. Vacuum distillation lowers the pressure inside the equipment, allowing distillation at a lower temperature. The published materials do not identify which method is used for each spirit component. For that reason, “low-temperature distillation” cannot be applied as a description of the entire distillation process.

Harmonizing Two Spirits

The tea-derived spirit profile does not complete the product on its own.

According to Hamada Syuzou’s official announcement, it is blended with the established spirit profile of Sasshu Sekitoba. The producer describes the finished result as bringing together Sekitoba’s light, orchard-fruit-like aroma, the rounded sweetness and gentle bitterness of matcha, and the refreshing aroma of sencha.

The blending ratio has not been made public. Neither have the evaluation criteria used to determine the blend. Public information confirms that decisions are made across fermentation with tea, distillation, and blending, but it does not disclose the figures behind those decisions.

First introduced in 2001, Sasshu Sekitoba began with the aim of creating a shochu unlike those that had come before it. The brand later developed expressions distinguished by sweet-potato varieties, alcohol strengths, and maturation methods. Released in 2025, Sasshu Sekitoba Matcha brings Kagoshima-grown tea into Kagoshima sweet-potato shochu production as a fermentation ingredient.

No.05: The Sequence of Integration

Archives of Craftsmanship: No.01 documented a choice behind Shichiken HAKUSHIN: polishing rice to a 27% polishing ratio and waiting for one year at −5°C. No.02 focused on HANEYA KIRABI, broadening the brewing season while narrowing the selected portion through nakagumi. No.03 examined Shirakane Shuzo’s SHIRAKANE-NO-TSUYU, assessing individual sweet potatoes and deciding which parts would not enter the secondary mash. No.04 recorded Heiwa Shuzo’s choice to set separate polishing ratios for koji rice and kake rice in KID Junmai Ginjo Karakuchi Kid.

For No.05, the defining focus of Sasshu Sekitoba Matcha is the sequence in which matcha and green tea enter production. The two teas are used as fermentation ingredients. The fermented mash is distilled, and the resulting spirit profile is blended with that of Sasshu Sekitoba.

The words “made with matcha” may suggest that matcha is simply added to sweet-potato shochu. The published process describes more: the amount and timing of the tea are chosen, the tea is added as a fermentation ingredient, the fermented mash is distilled, and the resulting spirit profile is combined with another.

The choice is not only which ingredients to use. It is also when they enter, which processes follow, and what is brought together at the end. Behind the brief phrase “made with matcha” lies a deliberate sequence of production decisions.

This article is intended solely to provide factual and cultural information about Hamada Syuzou and Sasshu Sekitoba Matcha, including its production design. It does not aim to promote or encourage the purchase or consumption of alcohol. It is intended for readers aged 20 and over.

บทความนี้จัดทำขึ้นเพื่อให้ข้อมูลเชิงข้อเท็จจริงและวัฒนธรรมเกี่ยวกับ Hamada Syuzou และ Sasshu Sekitoba Matcha รวมถึงแนวคิดด้านการผลิตเท่านั้น มิได้มีเจตนาเพื่อส่งเสริมการซื้อหรือการบริโภคเครื่องดื่มแอลกอฮอล์ บทความนี้จัดทำขึ้นสำหรับผู้อ่านอายุ 20 ปีขึ้นไป

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