Semi-Private Matcha Sensory Class in Jakarta Brings Matcha Educators and Business Owners Together from Across Indonesia

Jakarta, Indonesia, August 14, 2026

What began as a request for a private matcha class unexpectedly became an intimate gathering of matcha educators, business owners, and serious tea enthusiasts from different parts of Indonesia.

On August 14, 2026, Siti Mahdaria, Certified Tea Sommelier, Matcha Consultant, and Founder of Matcharia, hosted a Semi-Private Matcha Sensory Class at Hakuji House in South Jakarta, bringing together six participants for four hours of intensive learning, sensory exploration, and discussion about Japanese matcha.

The idea for the class came unexpectedly before Ria's short return to Indonesia. After spending approximately two and a half years immersed in the Japanese tea industry, Ria had returned to Indonesia with a packed schedule, traveling between cities and islands to meet family, friends, and people within the tea community. During this trip, Ade, the owner of MatchaTi in Yogyakarta, contacted her to request a special private matcha class. Ria was naturally happy to teach, but she also saw an opportunity to share the knowledge she had gathered in Japan with more people. She asked Ade whether he would be comfortable opening the private session to a few additional participants, while keeping the group to a maximum of six people so that the class could remain focused, personalized, and intimate.

Ade's enthusiastic response, “Of course! The more people, the merrier!” gave Ria the encouragement to turn the original private lesson into a semi-private sensory class.

A Matcha Class That Brought People Together From Across Indonesia

The response exceeded Ria's expectations. Although the class was intentionally designed for a small group of serious matcha lovers, matcha educators, and matcha business owners, the participants traveled from remarkably diverse locations and backgrounds.

Ade joined from Yogyakarta, while Azrina, who owns a matcha establishment in Aceh, traveled all the way from Aceh to Jakarta. Mita came from Medan and owns a matcha room in Solo, while Noviana, the owner of the well-known Kedai Cik Ong in Jakarta, and Jessica, who runs her own matcha brand in Jakarta, also joined the session. Having people travel across Indonesia specifically to participate in the class was deeply meaningful for Ria and became one of the most memorable aspects of the day.

“I feel very valued and appreciated. I really hope that the learning session with me can help develop their matcha knowledge even further, and that what we discussed can eventually be shared with their own communities,” said Ria. 

For her, the purpose of matcha education extends beyond helping individuals understand how to prepare or taste matcha. She hopes the people she teaches can eventually become knowledgeable voices within their own communities and contribute to a more informed and appreciative matcha culture in Indonesia.

Exploring Japanese Matcha Through Sensory Education

Held from 10:00 to 14:00 WIB at Hakuji House in South Jakarta, the Semi-Private Matcha Sensory Class was designed as an intensive learning experience rather than a conventional matcha workshop. The curriculum covered the language of tea, the landscape and character of Japanese matcha, sensory evaluation, flavor notes, matcha grading, and guided tasting. Participants were also introduced to different aspects of Japanese matcha production and were encouraged to understand how factors such as region, cultivar, harvest season, processing, milling, and blending can influence the final character of matcha.

One of the central goals of the session was to help participants develop their own sensory vocabulary. Rather than teaching participants that there is one “best” matcha, Ria encouraged them to observe differences between matchas and understand their own preferences. This approach is particularly relevant for matcha business owners and educators, who need to be able to communicate flavor, quality, and product characteristics clearly to their customers and communities.

The sensory session featured six different matchas, allowing participants to compare a wide range of flavor profiles and characteristics from Japanese tea-producing regions. Among the matchas tasted was M°16 Summer Blend, made from Saemidori and Yabukita cultivars, with a smooth profile, light nutty notes, and a friendly bitterness that works particularly well with milk. Participants also explored Mxx Kirari from Yame, a limited and currently undisclosed Matcharia powder, as well as M°02 Matcharia Signature Blend, a blend of Okumidori, Yamatomidori, and Gokou known for its creamy and smooth character, gentle umami, delicate nuttiness, and subtle chocolate undertones.

Another highlight was M°19 Okumidori Blend from Shizuoka, which offers creamy milk-like notes, hints of sweetness, and rich umami that becomes particularly expressive when prepared as a latte. Through this matcha, Siti also introduced participants to the importance of looking beyond general assumptions about a tea-producing region. While Shizuoka matcha can often be associated with more pronounced astringency, carefully selected and curated matcha from the region can also offer a rich and creamy profile. The tasting continued with M°01 Okumidori Yame, a full-bodied matcha with gentle umami, nutty hints of almond and green melon, and subtle popcorn-like undertones.

Understanding How Water Changes Matcha

Beyond tasting different matchas, the class also explored an often-overlooked element of tea preparation: Water. Participants conducted a water tasting comparing Gifu water, Fuji water, Zamzam water, and Indonesian water to observe how different waters can influence the sensory experience of matcha. The exercise encouraged participants to consider the entire preparation process rather than focusing exclusively on the tea powder itself, since water composition and extraction can influence how sweetness, umami, bitterness, astringency, and aroma are perceived in the final bowl.

The class also included Japanese wagashi, allowing participants to experience matcha alongside traditional Japanese sweets and consider how sweetness, texture, and flavor can interact with different matcha profiles. Together, the tasting activities created a broader sensory experience that connected matcha with the elements surrounding it, from water and food to preparation and communication.

Two Months of Research Behind the Matcha Handbook

An important part of the Semi-Private Matcha Sensory Class was the handbook prepared specifically for the participants. Ria spent approximately two months developing the material, collecting information from reliable sources including academic journals, books, Japanese tea business resources, and other references related to Japanese tea and matcha. She then combined this research with knowledge gained through her own experience working within the Japanese tea industry in Japan.

Since moving from Indonesia to Japan in 2024, Ria has immersed herself in different aspects of Japanese tea, including cultivation, processing, tasting, tea business, education, and communication. Her experience working closely with tea producers and learning directly from people within the Japanese tea industry has shaped the way she approaches matcha education today. The handbook was created to bring together these different sources of knowledge in a practical resource that participants could continue using after the class.

For Ria, the process of creating the handbook was also part of her own learning journey. “This session encourages me to learn even more, so I can share more, not only with people in general, but also with my matcha business owner friends in Indonesia,” she explained.

Teaching, in her view, is not a process where knowledge stops with the educator. Preparing to teach others encourages her to research more deeply, question what she knows, and continue developing her own understanding of Japanese tea.

A French Tea Friend Joins the Journey

The gathering also carried a personal connection to Ria's years in Japan through the presence of Celeste, her French friend who previously interned at the tea farm where Ria worked in Japan. Celeste is currently in Indonesia through an exchange program and volunteered to help Ria during the workshop. Her presence added another meaningful layer to the day, as the class connected Ria's Japanese tea journey with her current work in Indonesia.

For Ria, having Celeste beside her while participants traveled from different parts of Indonesia created a unique shared tea moment. The class was not only about bringing Japanese tea knowledge from Japan to Indonesia, but also about the friendships and international connections that can develop through tea. A French friend who had once shared part of Ria's life at a Japanese tea farm was now assiting her in teaching Indonesian matcha professionals in Jakarta.

“I Came From Aceh for This”

For Azrina, the journey to Jakarta represented the fulfillment of a long-standing wish to learn directly from Ria after following her work online for approximately two years.

“I have been following Ria and learning virtually from her for about two years. I have been wishing to learn from her in person and finally today is the day. I am beyond happy! I came from Aceh for this, and being able to network with such great people in the class, I am so grateful!” said Azrina.

Her experience reflected one of the central intentions behind the class: Creating a space where people interested in matcha can learn not only from the instructor, but also from one another. With participants coming from different regions and working in different parts of the matcha industry, the four-hour session became an opportunity to exchange perspectives, discuss experiences, and build connections that can continue beyond the workshop.

Learning, Sharing, and Building a Stronger Matcha Community

Although lunch was not originally included in the workshop package, Ria decided to provide lunch for the participants because the session lasted four hours, with a break between the sensory activities and the second part of the class. For Ria, it was a simple gesture of hospitality that could help participants rest, continue their conversations, and return to the session feeling more focused. The shared meal also gave the group another opportunity to connect informally after several hours of concentrated sensory learning.

The Semi-Private Matcha Sensory Class in Jakarta ultimately became much more than the private lesson it was originally intended to be. It became a meeting point for people from Aceh, Medan, Yogyakarta, Solo, and Jakarta who are each developing their own relationship with Japanese matcha. Their businesses and experiences may be different, but they share a desire to understand matcha more deeply and introduce better knowledge to the people around them.

For Ria, this experience strengthened her motivation to continue studying Japanese tea and developing educational programs for the growing matcha community in Indonesia. Her goal is not simply to introduce more people to matcha, but to encourage people to understand where matcha comes from, how its characteristics are developed, how to taste it thoughtfully, and how to communicate its qualities responsibly.

What began with one private class request became a small gathering of people who traveled across Indonesia to learn together. In four hours, they tasted different matchas, compared different waters, explored Japanese tea culture, shared lunch, exchanged business experiences, and built new connections. More importantly, the session reinforced Ria's belief that knowledge becomes more meaningful when it is shared.

The journey of Japanese matcha education in Indonesia is still developing, and gatherings like this create opportunities for that knowledge to travel further, from educators and business owners to their customers, communities, and future generations of tea lovers.