This tea flight presents five high-grade senchas from across the country, showcasing the variety that Japan’s most popular tea has to offer. From more traditional styles to organic cultivation and experimental cultivars, this sample set contains five unique teas that can be compared to see what effects terroir, shading, cultivar, elevation, and picking have on taste and aroma.
Sencha
Uji Okumidori
Though short, the shelf-shading this sencha receives gives it a distinct shaded aroma, a sweet and umami-rich taste, and a smooth and silky texture.
Sencha
Handpicked Honyama Yabukita
Grown as unpruned shizen-shitate bushes and carefully hand-picked, this sencha captures the elegance of the Honyama style with its fresh, light, and airy taste. The dedication of the hand-picking (手摘み - tezumi) and the delicacy of the light asamushi steaming can be seen in the incredibly whole and intact needles.
Don't be mislead by its light liquor colour; this tea is powerful, with a complex, structured, and elegant taste and finish.
Sencha
Ao-Sora
This sencha was made from a Taiwanese cultivar which is famously used to make Bai Hao Oolong. Brought to Shizuoka, it yields an extremely unique sencha that is soft, creamy and smooth.
Sencha
Yame Kirari 31
Registered in 2004, Kirari 31 was developed as a cold-resistant, early-budding cultivar, boasting an elegant balance of aroma and umami, as expressed in this unshaded offering from Yame.
Sencha
Organic Tatsuyama Yabukita
Grown at the impressive altitude of 600m, this elegant organic sencha delivers the classic hallmarks of a yamacha (山茶 – mountain tea), with a crisp, refreshing aroma, structured taste, natural sweetness, and lasting finish.