Heavy Metal Testing

Every batch of KEKKAI matcha is tested for heavy metals by an independent, ISO 17025 accredited laboratory. We publish the full results because we believe transparency is not a claim, but evidence.

Why we test

Tea plants naturally absorb minerals from soil, water, and air — including trace amounts of heavy metals. This is true for every tea grown anywhere in the world.

For matcha, where the entire leaf is consumed rather than steeped and discarded, this matters more than for other teas. We chose to verify our matcha with an independent laboratory rather than rely on general assumptions.

Where the testing is done

Samples are submitted through Eurofins Food Testing Japan in Yokohama, and the analysis itself is carried out at Eurofins WEJ Contaminants GmbH in Hamburg, Germany.

We could have tested closer to home. Sending the samples to an accredited laboratory on the other side of the world, in a country with no commercial interest in Japanese tea, seemed the more useful thing to do.

July 2026 Results

Analysed: 9–22 July 2026
Submitted through: Eurofins Food Testing Japan K.K., Yokohama
Analysis performed at: Eurofins WEJ Contaminants GmbH, Hamburg, Germany
Batch code: EUAA42-00015421
Method: ICP-MS / ICP-MS/MS (DIN EN 15763:2010)

Saemidori = STARTER  ·  Maru = STANDARD  ·  Nomu = CEREMONIAL GRADE

All values in µg/kg (micrograms per kilogram) except Aluminium, which is in mg/kg (milligrams per kilogram). Arsenic is reported as total arsenic. Measurement uncertainties are stated in the original reports below.

What the numbers mean

The European Union sets maximum levels for lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic in many foods under Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915. Tea is not among the categories covered for any of these four metals. The regulation does name tea explicitly elsewhere — for pyrrolizidine alkaloids, and for perchlorate — so this is a matter of regulatory scope, not a verdict on tea.

We test and publish regardless. The absence of a limit is not the same as the absence of a question.

To put the figures in everyday terms: taking the highest value measured across our three grades, a 2 g bowl of KEKKAI contains roughly 0.17 micrograms of lead, 0.02 of cadmium, 0.01 of mercury, and 0.05 of arsenic — under 0.3 micrograms for all four combined.

A note on aluminium

Aluminium is naturally present in all tea leaves. The plant takes it up from the soil, and older leaves carry more of it. There is no regulatory limit for aluminium in tea anywhere in the world, and it is not classed alongside the heavy metals above.

At the recommended serving of 2 g, a bowl of KEKKAI contains roughly 1.6 to 2.2 mg of aluminium depending on the grade. For a 60 kg adult drinking one bowl a day, that works out to about 19–26% of the EFSA tolerable weekly intake (1 mg per kg of body weight per week) and about 10–13% of the JECFA (FAO/WHO) provisional tolerable weekly intake (2 mg per kg of body weight per week).

Aluminium is present throughout the diet, so your total intake depends on everything else you eat. We publish the figures rather than an assurance, because the judgment should be yours to make.

Original reports

We provide the original Eurofins analytical reports for full transparency.

→ Download STARTER (Saemidori) — Eurofins Report PDF
→ Download STANDARD (Maru) — Eurofins Report PDF
→ Download CEREMONIAL GRADE (Nomu) — Eurofins Report PDF

For California residents

California's Proposition 65 requires a warning when exposure to a listed chemical exceeds the level the state has set as safe. Lead is on that list, and lead is naturally present in all tea leaves worldwide. Our measured lead levels are very low, but we provide a Proposition 65 notice in accordance with California state law.

→ Read our California Proposition 65 notice

Our commitment

We commit to testing every production lot of KEKKAI matcha with independent laboratories and publishing the results here. When values change with new harvests, we will update this page transparently — including any values that increase.