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.
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.
Cultivar: Yabukita
Region: Honyama, Shizuoka
Producer: Moriuchi Chanoen
Harvested: April 20, 2024
Elevation: 150m
Shading: 10 Days; Kanreisha
Picking: Hand-picked
Brewing Instructions
Meet the Producer
Moriuchi Chanoen (森内茶農園)
Cultivar: Yabukita