About

Over the years, many people have asked us about the inspiration behind MICHI and what the name stands for.

MICHI was founded by us, Filip and Mark, best friends brought together by a shared curiosity that slowly turned into something bigger. What started with matcha quickly grew into a deeper appreciation for Japanese culture, aesthetics, and a more mindful way of living.

There was a moment where we kept asking ourselves a simple question: with so much matcha on the market, what actually makes one different from another? That curiosity pushed us to look beyond the surface. We began learning not just about grades, but about everything that shapes the final taste cultivars, farmers, growing regions, and even the type and duration of shading before harvest. At the same time, we felt a strong responsibility to respect and highlight the decades of tradition and craftsmanship behind Japanese tea.

Our travels deepened this connection. Experiencing the tea ritual in Japan showed us the level of care, intention, and detail behind every cup. It also made us realise how little of that story is often shared. We wanted to make that world more accessible, clear, honest, and approachable for others who are curious.

Around that time, we found an old fisherman's trailer and decided to rebuild it nto a mobile matcha bar.

We stripped the trailer back and gave it a new life, creating a calm, minimal space where we could share tea in a more personal way. We began visiting food markets around Amsterdam, serving matcha alongside herbal and floral-infused sparkling iced drinks. Those moments shaped MICHI in a real way. They showed us what people connect with, and we were genuinely happy to see how many people enjoyed matcha in its purest form, as usucha (tea). That's still how we enjoy it most: for its clean, honest taste.

From the beginning, quality and authenticity have been non-negotiable.

We work closely with producers in Japan and keep direct supply chains. It allows us to offer fresher tea while building real relationships with the people behind it. For us, it's not just about the end product, but about the whole journey, understanding its origin and history and sharing these unique stories with care.

The name MICHI, meaning "path" in Japanese, reflects this entire journey.

A path of curiosity, learning, craftsmanship, and connection—between us, the producers, and everyone who drinks our tea.

  • 2023

    We started at Amsterdam’s food markets in the summer of 2023, when MICHI was just a small stand serving iced matcha, hot usucha, and sparkling matcha drinks infused with locally sourced herbs from a converted fisherman’s bicycle trailer we built ourselves.

    Each weekend behind the bar taught us something new, as we sketched the concept on paper, turned an old trailer into a wooden matcha bar, and poured our first cups at Noordermark, always in fully recyclable cups that reflected our commitment to a more sustainable way of serving tea.

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  • 2024

    By 2024, MICHI had grown beyond the market stalls that first introduced our matcha to Amsterdam.

    Our focus shifted from simply serving drinks to understanding their origins, working closely with producers, refining our selection, and investing in packaging that better reflected our brand, alongside traditional tools such as Takayama chasen and specialist tea ware.

    Researching producers and their cultivation and harvesting techniques led to our first trip to Japan, where we began building the relationships that now underpin MICHI.

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  • 2025

    MICHI has grown into a small specialist importer of Japanese matcha and tea tools, taking part in fairs and trade shows and supplying award‑winning cafés and specialty spaces across Europe, including Selfridges Foodhall in London.

    We work directly with growers, producers, and workshops in Japan, including traditional chasen makers in Takayama such as Suikaen, led by 25th‑generation craftsman Yasaburō Tanimura.

    Our focus remains what it was at the market: simple preparation, careful sourcing, and deep respect for the process behind every cup.

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