Gyokurinen

Brand story

Gyokurinen traces its roots to 1736, when the Hayashi family began cultivating and exporting tea near Kajitori in Wakayama. The business also handled tobacco and dried goods under the trade name Kawachiya. In 1854, during the Ansei period, the company was formally established as Gyokurinen and shifted its focus exclusively to tea production and sales. After relocating to Honcho in 1913, the company became a dedicated tea retailer. In 1958, then-president Hayashi Misahiko invented Green Soft — the world’s first matcha soft-serve ice cream — as a way to boost summer sales. The product debuted at the 1970 Osaka Expo where it sold out, and Gyokurinen famously refused to license the formula to large confectionery companies. Today, under sixth-generation president Hayashi Kazuhiro, the company sells over two million Green Soft units annually, operates six direct retail locations in Wakayama, and continues to stone-grind all its matcha in-house using traditional Uji tencha.