Ao-Sora Sencha
Moriuchi ChanoenThis sencha was made from a Taiwanese cultivar called Chin Hsin Da Pa which is famously used to make Bai Hao Oolong. Brought to Shizuoka, it yields an extremely unique sencha that is soft, creamy and smooth.
Producer: Moriuchi Chanoen
Region: Honyama, Shizuoka
Elevation: 100m
Cultivar: Chin Hsin Da Pa
Harvested: May, 2025
Picking: Handheld Machine
Of Shizuoka's many tea-growing regions, tea from Honyama is praised for its transparent and elegant taste, deriving from the mineral rich soil and the subtle, natural shade of fog and mountains. Tea grown on the slopes that border the Abe and Warashina Rivers, which flow through Shizuoka, is said to be Honyama tea. Along with the neighbouring region of Kawane, Honyama tea is often grown at a higher elevation than most other Japanese teas.
Tea from this region has been grown and revered for centuries, and has even been presented as tribute to the Emperor by order of Tokugawa Ieyasu in the Edo period. Typically unshaded and lightly-steamed, honyamacha is known for its clear, crisp taste, and distinctive aroma, known as yama no kaori (山の香) or mountain aroma.
Pronounced ‘Sei Shin Tai Pan’ in Japanese, this Chinese cultivar is famous for its use in Taiwan as the most popular cultivar for making Bai Hao oolong, also known as Eastern Beauty or Dongfang Meiren, a heavily-oxidised, bug-bitten oolong. This cultivar was selected for use by the Tawainese tea research institute which was set up by Japanese authorities during their occupation of Taiwan.
Brewing Instructions
Traditional
Hot Tea
Use 2 g (0.07 oz) of tea leaves for every 50 ml (1.70 oz) of water
Heat your water to 75º C (167º F) or cool boiling water by pouring it into the cups, then into the teapot
Let it steep for 60 seconds before pouring slowly until the last drop. Enjoy!
Moriuchi Chanoen (森内茶農園)
Head farmer Yoshio Moriuchi sees agriculture as a natural laboratory in which he can hypothesise and experiment, discovering new ways to cultivate and produce tea. He’s always trying to do something new and innovative, and is constantly refining and improving his teas. He is a Nihoncha Instructor and Temomicha Master (手揉み茶 - hand-rolled sencha), and has won 1st place in the Shizuoka Temomi Competition and 3rd Place in the National Competition.
His wife, Masami Moriuchi, manages operations at Moriuchi Chanoen. She is a certified Nihoncha Instructor Leader, full-time Nihoncha Advisor Lecturer, and has also won awards for her masterful Temomicha.
For almost 300 years, the Moriuchi family has been growing tea in the Uchimaki sector of Honyama, Shizuoka. Currently headed by 9th generation tea farmer Yoshio Moriuchi (森内吉男) and managed by his wife, Masami Moriuchi (森内真澄), Moriuchi Chanouen is a certified Eco-farm, using less than half the standard amount of pesticides in order to preserve the balanced ecosystem of the tea fields. Additionally, they mix their own fertiliser which is over 80% organic.
Since 1999, they have been manufacturing oxidised teas such as black and oolong, making the best use of the unique characteristics of the over 15 cultivars that they grow, which include Marishi, Yama no Ibuki, Sōfū, Saemidori, Kōshun, Yume Turuga, Tsuyuhikari, Okumidori, Inaguchi, Benifūki, Minami Sayaka, Musashi kaori, and of course Yuabkita. Additionally, they grow some Taiwanese cultivars such as Chin Hsin Da Pa (known as Seishintaipan in Japanese).