Matcha Incense Tea Warmer Starter Set — Suruga Bamboo Craft

This Matcha Incense Tea Warmer Starter Set pairs a handcrafted Suruga bamboo warmer with INCENSE KITCHEN's Uji matcha incense, bringing the soft, grassy aroma of a long-established Kyoto tea shop to your desk, your reading corner, or your tea table. The set includes the warmer, five pressed matcha incense pieces in assorted lucky-charm shapes, and four tealight candles, ready to use the moment it arrives. Unlike stick incense, which fills a room with a single dominant fragrance, this matcha incense is warmed rather than burned, leaving no smoke, no ash, and no overpowering perfume, only the quiet, mellow scent of fresh Uji matcha drifting just far enough to keep you company.

What makes this matcha incense special is the matcha itself. INCENSE KITCHEN sources only fresh Uji matcha that has been rejected for food use. It carries the same rich aroma as tea-grade matcha but cannot be sold for drinking, so the brand purchases it directly from Uji tea farms and processors and presses it into incense. Nothing fragrant goes to waste.

The bamboo warmer, "Ajiro-gi," is handmade by a certified traditional craftsman using Suruga Take Sensuji, a Shizuoka bamboo craft known for its slender round bamboo strips rather than the flat ribbons used in most bamboo work. The name "Ajiro-gi" comes from the winter scene of bamboo fishing weirs lined across the Uji River, and the warmer's vertical bamboo echoes that quiet image. The same Uji landscape that produces the matcha inside the warmer is reflected in the form of the warmer itself.

When you run out of incense, refills are available as Pressed Matcha Incense for Tea Warmer. If you prefer a more compact warmer in a different style, see our sister set, Matcha Incense Tea Warmer Starter Set — Tea Garden.

How to Use

1. Place one or two incense pieces on the heat-resistant glass plate at the top, depending on how strong you would like the fragrance.
2. Set a tealight in the bamboo cup below and light it. If the candle sits low, use the inner lid as a riser to bring it closer to the plate.
3. After about five minutes the matcha begins to release its aroma. It lasts roughly 20 minutes per side.
4. When the scent fades or the surface darkens, flip the piece over for another 20 minutes. Once both sides are spent, the piece is finished.

Details

• Set contents: 1 bamboo warmer, 5 pressed matcha incense pieces, 4 candles
• Size (Tea warmer): 3.9" D × 2.8" H (10 cm D × 7.1 cm H)
• Weight: 5.5 oz (155 g)
• Materials: Bamboo, Matcha
• Origin: Japan. Warmer crafted in Shizuoka, incense made in Uji, Kyoto.
• Brand: INCENSE KITCHEN
• Note: Warming incense, not burning. Do not apply direct flame to the incense. Never leave a lit candle unattended.
  

The Story of INCENSE KITCHEN

INCENSE KITCHEN is a small atelier founded in 2020, with its workshop in Uji, Japan's most celebrated matcha-producing region. The founder grew up in Kyoto, surrounded from childhood by the city's quiet daily rituals of tea ceremony, ikebana, kimono, and incense. Before launching the brand, she studied fragrance and the way of incense at the Izumiyama Goryu school of kodo.

The brand's signature matcha incense is the only one of its kind in Japan, made with matcha as its sole aromatic ingredient. Each piece is hand-pressed in traditional wagashi molds, the same wooden tools used to shape Japanese tea sweets, which is why the incense looks so much like tiny tea-ceremony confections. Since 2021, every batch has been made with "zero-waste matcha" sourced directly from Uji tea farmers and processors. It is the same fine, fragrant Uji matcha used in tea, but cannot be sold for consumption due to food-grade specifications.