Yame Okumidori Matcha
Yamecha KumaenThis Yame usucha has a vivd colour with a soft aroma, mild sweetness, and an airy body. A subtle bitterness adds structure and complexity, balancing the flavour as usucha and allowing it to punch through in a latte.
Located in the south of Japan, Yame (八女) is best known for its shaded teas, namely gyokuro and matcha. Each year, the award for the best gyokuro in Japan usually goes to Yame (with Uji in second place).
Part of why Yame excels is their preservation of high-quality, traditional shading practices in the form of Yame Dento Hon Gyokuro (八女伝統本玉露): Yame Traditional True Gyokuro. This designation is applied to hand-picked teas shaded under straw for at least two weeks.
Outside of their gyokuro, Yame is known for finishing their teas with a relatively strong firing, imparting a nutty aroma, especially in their matcha and sencha.
A very popular cultivar, Okumidori was registered in 1974 and is a hybrid between Yabukita and a Shizuoka Zairai. Like all cultivars that begin with ‘oku-’, it is a late-budding cultivar which means it is more frost resistant, but must be harvested later.
Though developed for sencha, Okumidori is also used for matcha and gyokuro with great results. Lacking a particularly strong character, it produces a well-balanced tea with a deeper, greener colour.
Brewing Instructions
Usucha
Thin Tea
Heat water to 70º C (158º F)
Add 70 ml (2.4 oz) of water to 2 g (2 tea scoops) of sifted matcha
Whisk briskly in a back and forth motion for about 20 seconds
Hot Matcha Latte
Tea and Milk
Mix 4 g (2 tsp) of sifted matcha with 40 ml (1.4 oz) of 70° C (158° F) water
Heat or steam 180 ml (6 oz) of your preferred milk
Pour milk into matcha base
Iced Matcha Latte
Cold and Refreshing
Mix 4 g (2 tsp) of sifted matcha with 40 ml (1.4 oz) of 70° C (158° F) water
Pour 180 ml (6 oz) of your milk of choice into a ice-filled 10-12oz (300-350 ml) glass. Optionally, add ~5ml of syrup to add texture and sweetness to the milk
Pour the matcha base over the ice
Yamecha Kumaen (八女茶くま園)
Head tea master Masahiro Kuma (久間正大) is a third-generation tea farmer who sees producing Dento Hon Gyokuro as a year-long bet, requiring months of dedicated work in the hope that the spring harvest will yield delicious tea. His goal is to one day make tea that is more than just ‘delicious’, a tea that will move people’s hearts.
Overall operations at Kumaen are headed by Kazumi Nakatani (中谷一美), the fourth generation granddaughter of a tea farmer whose goal is to spread the deliciousness of Japanese tea and Yamecha all over the world.
Founded over 100 years ago, Yamecha Kumaen produces gyokuro, sencha, matcha, and wakoucha in Joyomachi area of Yame in Fukuoka. Kumaen is known for their exceptional Yame Dento Hon Gyokuro, a style of gyokuro that must follow strict, traditional guidelines, such as honzu straw shading and hand-picking. Their Dento Hon Gyokuro consistently wins many awards, with their 2017 harvest even receiving 1st place in the Gyokuro division of the National Tea Competition 2017, with a full score of 200 points.
In addition to the ubiquitous Yabukita, they also grow Saemidori, Samidori, Okumidori, Okuyutaka, Tsuyuhikari, Asatsuyu, Hikari-tsuyu, and Kirari 31 for sencha, tencha, and gyokuro production. They also produce wakoucha using the Benifuki and Benihikari cultivars.