Sencha Yame
Hanatsumi Organic

Contest Grade 99 P.

SKU
5874-bio
Contest Grade organic yame sencha of the finest quality, with a deep, mystical yame umami combined with a tremendously full body. Grown in the top mountain terroir of Yame and shaded for a full 7 days. Sourced directly from one of the best farmers in Yame. 40g
  • Grown in the Yame mountains, a stimulating climate which results in strong, healthy plants
  • One of the few organic farmers in Yame
  • 3rd generation family farm
  • Multiple awards (MAFF award)

 

Character Full umami and body, with a mystical depth
Tea Garden Renowned 3rd generation tea farmer
Terroir Yabe, Yame, Fukuoka Prefecture
Harvest 1st flush (ichibancha), beginning of May 2023
Cultivar Yabukita, Okumidori, Saemidori
Elevation 600m
Steaming Medium (chuumushi) c. 50 seconds
Shading 7 days, jikagise technique
Organic Cert. JAS, EU certified organic
Awards MAFF-awarded tea farmer
Grade 99/100 p. (sencha category); Contest Grade
€21.90
40g

Delivery : 1–3 business days

Incl. VAT, excl. Shipping

SKU
5874-bio
€547.50 / 1kg
In stock

Tea Farm

The tea farm, founded by the tea farmer's grandfather, is located in the snow-covered mountains surrounding the legendary tea village of Yabe. At an altitude of 500m, the region has a stimulating climate with alternating periods of snow, sun and fog which give the plants a special resilience and the tea a unique aromatic power. The tea farmer has received the coveted MAFF Award several times, as well as numerous other awards, and thus continues to live up to his reputation of being one of the best organic farmers in the whole of Yame. These awards honour not only the farm's sencha and gyokuro but also the rare wakocha, making this tea farmer among the best in all of Japan. He has been cultivating tea in the green tea mecca of Yame for over 30 years—the last 13 years of which did not include the use of plant protection products or pesticides.

Character

Flavour

Full umami with an intense, incomparable yame depth. Tremendously full-bodied, with a creaminess and sweetness that can only be found in the best senchas. Green tea of the very highest calibre. The tasting experience is matched by an amazingly vitalising body sensation, invigorating and even euphoric at times.

Leaf

Fine and delicate dark green needles

Cup

Dense yellow/green

SENCHA

Sencha is by far the most commonly cultivated and consumed green tea in Japan and constitutes the backbone of Japanese tea traditions. The leaves are typically steamed for 10-60 seconds, dried with hot air, churned, and via a multi-staged process rolled into flat needles. The flavour profile of sencha is very diverse and varies between sweet, fresh and grassy to robustly bitter. The region of cultivation as well as quality of the tea play a significant role in determining flavour.

Laboratory Tests

We go to great lengths to identify the finest organic tea farms across the world’s most celebrated terroirs. All our teas are sourced directly from the farmer and, with a few exceptions, are certified organic or come from pesticide-free farms. Each batch of tea for every harvest is tested for pesticides and other pollutants in an independent German lab to ensure they meet our strict quality standards as well as HACCP food safety requirements. Likewise, all the regions of Japan from which we source our teas are tested for radioactivity for every harvest.

Yoshi En

Premium Organic Teas

Our comprehensive portfolio focuses on organic, single-origin teas sourced directly from renowned farms. We believe in creating partnerships with farmers who share our values and are committed to sustainable, responsible tea cultivation. Thanks to these strong relationships our exciting range is constantly growing and evolving. As an international team of dedicated and passionate tea experts, we are committed to preserving centuries-old tea culture while ensuring it remains relevant and continues to bring joy in the present. About Yoshi En.

Cultivation & Processing

Yamecha (八女茶)

Located in the north of Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan's three main islands, the region around Yame city is home to Japan's famous yamecha (Jap.: 八女茶; tea from Yame). Fukuoka Prefecture produces only 3% of the country's green tea but 45% of the total gyokuro, including the highly revered and coveted dentou hon gyokuro. Only the finest of Yame's shaded teas, which use special traditional methods and are fully shaded with rice straw (tana-honzu technique), are allowed to hold this title. Yamecha is one of the most expensive green teas in Japan due to the centuries-old tradition of tea cultivation in the region, its virtually ideal geographical conditions and the farmers' unique focus on quality.

The Tsukushi plain, and the basins of the two main Yames rivers, Yabe and Chikugo, in particular, are often shrouded in fog. Especially dense in the morning, it provides natural protection from sunlight and stimulates the teas to form a particularly large number of umami-rich amino acids. Teas grown in Yame are therefore often referred to as "natural gyokuros" and can be quite intense. The rivers bring pure alpine spring water and cool, humid air into the terroir, and the stimulating weather conditions, with hot days and cold nights, even sometimes cover the tea bushes in snow during the winter months. The area around Yame also has an extremely high precipitation rate, with up to 2,400mm falling annually. This causes the tea fields, which are mostly located on mountain slopes with loose, sediment-rich soils, to be constantly washed through and drained. These harsh conditions allow the plants to become particularly resistant and contribute to the unmistakably full yamecha aroma.

Apart from yabukita (77%), the full-bodied kanayamidori sencha cultivar (4%) and the southern cultivars okumidori (4%), saemidori (4%) and yamakai (2%), which are popular for gyokuro and kabuse, are particularly widespread. Rare gourmet cultivars like samidori, okuyutaka, gokou and asatsuyu are also cultivated here.

The historical origin of yamecha dates back to 1423 with the work of Shuzui, the Zen master who introduced the Ming style of tea cultivation and processing, which includes roasting the tea in a pot, after coming back to Japan following a stay in China. It was not until the Edo period in the mid-19th century that the uji method of tea production, and thus steaming and shading, gradually began to gain acceptance. The first senchas were produced only in small quantities and as luxury goods, followed by a gradual modernisation and the slow establishment of a tea industry from the different regions of Fukuoka, which were officially grouped together under the name Yamecha in 1925 to emphasise the special quality of the roasted and steamed green teas.

Today, Yame is considered one of the leading tea regions in the whole of Japan, alongside Uji, and routinely receives the highest awards in the country's most prestigious tea competitions. Yamecha consistently won the prestigious MAFF Award for gyokuro from the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries from 2001 to 2012 and received the same award in the sencha category from 2014 to 2019. Teas from Kuroki-Cho, Kamiyou-Cho and Hoshino Mura, the famous mountain village whose name is familiar to every gyokuro lover, are frequently awarded and correspondingly coveted.

Single Origin

This tea comes from the above mentioned tea field in Yame and is sourced directly from the tea farmer.

Organic Certification

Preparation

Brewing Guide

2 heaped tsp. per 100-300ml (50-60°C) water. Steep for 2 minutes. Suitable for several infusions.

Packaging

High quality, airtight, resealable standing zipper pouch with 9 protective layers to preserve flavour and protect against oxidation and contamination.

Recommended Teapot

A red tokoname kyusu with a fine ceramic sieve is ideal for this sencha (it brings out the valuable bitter compounds beautifully). Alternatively, we recommend a black tokoname kyusu, suitable for all types of green tea.

Recommended Storage

A high-quality tea caddy made of cherry bark (solid wood, kabazaiku chazutsu) is ideal. Alternatively, a cheaper, internally coated, airtight tea caddy can suffice.

Our recommendations

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