{"product_id":"new-tsuchiyama-yabukita-kabuse-sencha-maeno-yoshinori-shiga-prefecture-50g-2026-spring-harvest","title":"NEW Tsuchiyama Yabukita Kabuse Sencha, 2026 All-Japan Tea Competition Awardee; Shiga Prefecture, 50g. 2026 Spring Harvest","description":"\u003cp\u003eSaikoukyuu (Highest Quality) Tsuchiyama Kabuse Sencha - 2026 Ichibancha (First\/Spring Harvest Tea,) Hand-picked by farmer Maeno, himself.\u003cbr\u003eOrigin: Tsuchiyama Tea Region, Koka City, Shiga Prefecture                                                                      Farmer Maeno Yoshinori                                                                                                                          Cultivar: Yabukita (\"North of the Bamboo grove\")                                                                                           This tea won third place in this year's All-Japan National Tea Competition, as well as the Minster of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Award for unfinished tea (\u003cem\u003earacha\u003c\/em\u003e) in this year's Shiga Prefecture Tea Competition. We've kept this tea in special red and gold packaging with Japanese script noting the inclusion and achievement in this 80th (2026) tea competition.           \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLike many teas produced in Tsuchiyama, this is a Kabuse (shaded) Sencha, where in the final days prior to harvest, tea plants are shaded to produce additional \u003cem\u003eumami\u003c\/em\u003e and to reduce astringency.  The fine needles are beautifully dark green and glossy. The tea infuses to a light yellow-green color, and a mild \u003cem\u003edashi\u003c\/em\u003e-like aroma. Full bodied and smooth, the first infusion delivers upfront savory \u003cem\u003eumami\u003c\/em\u003e and honeydew sweetness. Subsequent infusions are a balance of \u003cem\u003eumami\/amami\/shibumi\u003c\/em\u003e (savory\/sweet\/astringent) with a light sansho pepper astringent finish. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tw-ta-container tw-nfl\" id=\"tw-target-text-container\" role=\"text\" tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cpre class=\"tw-data-placeholder tw-text-small tw-ta\" data-placeholder=\"\" id=\"tw-target-rmn\" role=\"text\" style=\"text-align: left;\" dir=\"ltr\" tabindex=\"-1\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Y2IQFc\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/pre\u003e\n\u003ch5 class=\"tw-target-rmn tw-ta-container tw-nfl\" id=\"tw-target-rmn-container\" role=\"text\" tabindex=\"-1\"\u003e\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"western\" align=\"left\" style=\"line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"text-decoration: none;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: normal;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003eTsuchiyama-cha (Tsuchiyama Tea):\u003c\/span\u003e Of the three main tea regions of Shiga Prefecture (Asamiya, Tsuchiyama, Mandokoro), Tsuchiyama Town, within Koka City, is the prefecture’s leading producer. Located near the Yasu River, and the foothills of the Suzaka Mountains, it has an ideal micro climate for tea growing with clean water and long daylight hours. A large portion of Tsuchiyama’s teas are Kabusecha (Shaded Teas) which deliver high \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"text-decoration: none;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: normal;\"\u003eumami\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"text-decoration: none;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: normal;\"\u003e and low astringency. Tsuchiyama is also a region that has represented Shiga well in regional and national tea competitions. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"western\" align=\"left\" style=\"line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"western\" align=\"left\" style=\"line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"text-decoration: none;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: normal;\"\u003eThe region’s tea origins go back to 1356 C.E. at Nandoyama J\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"text-decoration: none;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: normal;\"\u003eō\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"text-decoration: none;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: normal;\"\u003emy\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"text-decoration: none;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: normal;\"\u003eō\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"text-decoration: none;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: normal;\"\u003e-ji (Temple,) when tea seeds were brought from Daikoku-ji in Kyoto. While tea was grown in the temple grounds for the associated clergy and aristocrats, it was during the Edo Period (1603-1868) when production grew rapidly as Tsuchiyama was a post town along the Tokaido highway linking Kyoto to Edo (Tokyo.) In the following Meiji Era (1868-1912), production technology grew and Tsuchiyama tea even became a product exported out of the region. Today, it is one of the lesser-known tea regions of Japan, but still has a fine reputation among Japanese tea experts and enthusiasts. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"western\" align=\"left\" style=\"line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"western\" align=\"left\" style=\"line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003eŌmi-cha (Oumi Tea)\u003c\/span\u003e is the collective term for teas from Shiga Prefecture, Ōmi being the old provincial name prior to 1872. Shiga Prefecture is located in central Japan; sharing borders with Kyoto, Mie, Aichi, and Fukui Prefectures. It is best known as the prefecture that contains Lake Biwa, Japan’s largest freshwater lake. It is not as well-known as a tea producing region as neighboring Kyoto, famous for Uji teas; or Shizuoka or Kagoshima Prefectures, which are typically the top first and second ranked producers by volume. In fact, Shiga is not even in the top ten prefectures ranked by production. However, Shiga Prefecture stands out in historical importance, and in tea quality.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"western\" align=\"left\" style=\"line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"western\" align=\"left\" style=\"line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;\"\u003eIn terms of tea quality, Shiga Prefecture tea often ranks highly in national and regional tea competitions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"western\" align=\"left\" style=\"line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;\"\u003eThere are three main regional brands among teas grown in Shiga Prefecture; Asamiya (South Shiga; Shigaraki Town, Koka City), Tsuchiyama (SE Shiga; Tsuchiyama Town, Koka City), and Mandokoro (SE Shiga, Mandokoro Village, Higashiōmi City, close to the Suzaka Mountains and the Mie Prefecture border.) Asamiya and Tsuchiyama teas have done very well through the years in both the regional Kansai Tea Competition, and the All-Japan National Tea Competition, especially in the Sencha and Kabuse Sencha categories.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"western\" align=\"left\" style=\"line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"western\" align=\"left\" style=\"line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;\"\u003eAs for tea history, when the Buddhist monk Saichō (767-822 C.E. born in Ōmi City, in present-day Shiga) first brought tea seeds back from China to Japan in 805 C.E. and began cultivation around Mount Hiei, which straddles the border of Kyoto and Shiga Prefectures. On the Shiga side, this was thought to be at Hiyoshi Shrine, which still maintains a small tea garden today. In 815 C.E., the monk Eichū served tea to the Emperor Saga, who then ordered that further tea cultivation be established five locations around the region, one of which was the area around the Hiyoshi Shrine tea garden. For these reasons, Shiga Prefecture, with a tea history of over 1,200 years, is sometimes called the “birthplace of Japanese tea cultivation.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Charaku Fine Japanese Tea","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":58800052306223,"sku":null,"price":25.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0778\/9464\/8111\/files\/MAENO.TSUCHIYAMA.SENCHA.LEAF.jpg?v=1794523481","url":"https:\/\/charaku-tea.com\/products\/new-tsuchiyama-yabukita-kabuse-sencha-maeno-yoshinori-shiga-prefecture-50g-2026-spring-harvest","provider":"Charaku Fine Japanese Tea","version":"1.0","type":"link"}