TSUJIRI Japanese Tea House

What TSUJIRI Japanese Tea House does

TSUJIRI Japanese Tea House, operating in Alberta, Canada as TSUJIRI Alberta under a franchise of the Japanese parent brand TSUJIRI CHAHO, runs a traditional matcha and Japanese tea café and retail business. The Alberta operation serves individual consumers through dine-in and take-out service at two physical locations in Calgary (205 16 Ave NE) and Edmonton, with extended daily hours. The product offering is organized into three categories: on-premise food and beverages (tea-based drinks, matcha soft serve, Japanese-style pastries including matcha and houjicha roll cakes, cheesecakes, and mousse cakes), retail products sold through the company's own storefront (ceremonial-grade matcha in 30g and 100g sizes, loose leaf sencha, houjicha, and genmaicha, plus traditional tea preparation accessories such as whisking bowls and whisks), and direct-order custom whole cakes fulfilled by phone with a two-day preparation window.

The underlying product technology is rooted in heritage cultivation and preservation methods established by founder Riemon Tsuji in 1860 in Kyoto, Japan — specifically the refinement of gyokuro (the highest grade of Japanese green tea) and the invention of the tea box for preserving freshness during transport — with matcha sourced single-origin from Uji, Japan. The business is privately held, employs 39 people, and operates exclusively in the Alberta market with no disclosed revenue, funding, or expansion milestones beyond the 2010 entry into Canada. GTM is predominantly physical retail supported by a website, Instagram (@tsujiri_alberta), email, and a franchise inquiry channel; pricing is not publicly disclosed, and no app, loyalty program, or e-commerce checkout beyond the retail storefront is mentioned.

Name

TSUJIRI Japanese Tea House

Website

https://tsujirialberta.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1860

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

TSUJIRI Japanese Tea House operates two authentic Japanese matcha cafés in Alberta, Canada (Calgary and Edmonton) under franchise of the 1860 Kyoto brand TSUJIRI CHAHO, serving traditional drinks, soft serve, pastries, and retail matcha and loose leaf teas to individual consumers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Japanese Tea House / Matcha Café

NAICS

Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (311920)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Tea Rooms & Tea Cafes (THAFADAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Specialty Tea Shops (Loose-Leaf, Tea Bars) (THAFAKAD), Specialty Coffee & Tea Retail (Beans, Leaves, Accessories) (CRAHAGAI), Specialty Coffee & Tea (Single-Origin, Micro-lot, Premium) Processing (AFAFADAJ)

Keywords

• Japanese matcha tea
• Matcha beverages
• Tea house cafe
• Japanese pastries
• Ceremonial grade matcha

Headquarters

HQ city

Calgary

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

TSUJIRI Japanese Tea House is a 160+ year-old matcha tea brand originating from Kyoto, Japan, operating tea house cafés (chaho) that serve matcha-based beverages, soft serve ice cream, and Japanese-style pastries such as matcha roll cake, houjicha roll cake, matcha cheesecake, yuzu cheesecake, double fromage cake, matcha black sesame mousse cake, and yuzu mousse cake. The Alberta franchise operation (TSUJIRI Alberta) also retails ceremonial-grade matcha, traditional Japanese loose leaf teas (Sencha, Houjicha, Genmaicha), and tea preparation accessories, and accepts custom whole-cake orders by phone. The brand emphasizes authentic single-origin matcha sourced from Uji, Japan, and traditional tea preparation methods inherited from founder Riemon Tsuji.

Product overview

TSUJIRI Japanese Tea House is a traditional matcha tea brand founded in 1860 in Kyoto, Japan. The company operates as a food & beverage business offering tea-based drinks, soft serve, and Japanese pastries at its Alberta locations, along with a retail line of ceremonial-grade matcha, loose leaf teas (Sencha, Houjicha, Genmaicha), and traditional tea preparation accessories. The product portfolio centers on authentic Japanese tea experiences both in-store and for home preparation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Drinks & Soft Serve

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Ippodo Tea: Long-established Kyoto-based Japanese tea brand offering ceremonial-grade matcha, loose-leaf teas, and direct-to-consumer retail globally. Most direct peer by heritage, single-origin Uji sourcing, and retail brand proposition.
• T2 Tea: Specialty tea retailer with store-based experience, broad loose-leaf assortment, and tea accessories. Comparable retail concept combining store experience and packaged tea/accessory sales.
• Matcha Cafe MAKI: Japan-origin matcha-specialty cafe concept expanding internationally with a tea-forward menu of drinks, soft-serve, and Japanese pastries. Closest direct cafe-format peer to TSUJIRI Alberta's dine-in model.
• DAVIDsTEA: Canadian specialty tea retailer (Montreal-headquartered) with extensive loose-leaf, matcha, and tea accessory assortment sold via e-commerce. Comparable on Canadian specialty tea retail and accessory merchandising.
• Ten Ren Tea: Asian-tea heritage brand operating retail storefronts and tea-focused menus in North America. Comparable cafe-plus-retail model with deep tea assortment.

Emerging players

• Jade Leaf Matcha: US-based direct-to-consumer matcha brand selling ceremonial-grade and culinary matcha plus accessories online. Comparable pure-play matcha retail model rather than cafe, but competes for the same consumer wallet.
• Encha Organic Matcha: Organic ceremonial-grade matcha e-commerce brand with cafe-style product education. Comparable on retail matcha positioning though lacking TSUJIRI's cafe footprint and Japanese heritage.

Regional players

• Second Cup: Canadian cafe chain with significant Alberta presence and a tea-and-coffee beverage menu. Comparable on Alberta cafe footprint and Canadian consumer base, though broader coffee focus.

Broad incumbents

• Teavana (Starbucks): Specialty tea brand now operating within Starbucks, selling loose-leaf teas, matcha, and accessories globally. Comparable retail tea assortment with far broader scale and distribution.
• Ito En: Japan's largest tea company producing bottled green tea, matcha products, and loose-leaf tea for global retail and foodservice channels. Broad incumbent with overlapping matcha and Japanese tea categories at much larger scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/tsujiri_alberta
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tsujiri-japanese-tea-house

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about TSUJIRI Japanese Tea House