Description
Saemidori Fukamushi Sencha - 2025 Shincha (New Harvest Tea). Naturally grown with no synthetic pesticides or fertilizers.
Origin: Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture.
Cultivar: Saemidori
As with most Fukamushi (deep-steamed) tea, it infuses quickly and produces a deep green color, especially on the second and latter infusions.
This Fukamushi Sencha from Kanoya produces a nice medium green color on the first infusion with small leaf particles floating in the broth. It's smooth and full-bodied, with plenty of savory umami notes, almost like a hard cheese. The amami (sweetness) and shibumi (astringency) are light and well-balanced with a smooth finish (not an astringent bite). Further infusions deepen in color, quite quickly, and keep similar flavor notes as the first, with some more sweetness emerging, but can also have increased astringency with higher water temperature. Overall, a smooth and luxurious tea experience.
Kanoya is located on the eastern side of Kagoshima Prefecture, which is horseshoe-shaped around Kagoshima Bay. There is a partial coastline along the Bay, then the region heads northeast towards neighboring Miyazaki Prefecture. The predominant style of Sencha production in Kanoya is the Fukamushi (deep-steaming) method, and many farmers in the region also observe natural farming practices. Tea cultivation in Kagoshima Prefecture is said to go back as far as 700 years, and just in the past year Kagoshima has overtaken Shizuoka Prefecture as the leading grower of teas in Japan.