The 2017 Shincha season started late this year, and the new teas have been harvested and refined slowly in the last few weeks, but and our range of house blend Sencha from Uji is starting to take shape!

Here are the freshly harvested Sencha currently available for international shipping at Rishouen:

Sencha assembled by our tea masters from tender young leaves sourced in the Uji region:
Mujou Betsugi Sencha – 50g, 1500 yen
Gokujou Sencha – 50g, 1000 yen
Betsujou Sencha – 50g, 785 yen

Single field teas containing the leaves of a single cultivar, sourced from only one field, and only one producer:

2017 Pure Sencha grown by Mr. Tsuji in Harayama, cultivar Yabukita – 80g, 1230 yen
This is the second year that Mr. Tsuji has agreed to our request to grow this Sencha directly under the sun, to obtain a traditional Sencha revealing a deep, fresh green flavor  with a long finish that will fill its drinker with a much welcome energy boost.

Japanese producers are covering their Sencha fields from the sun more and more lately (sometimes up to 14 days before harvest!) to develop a mellow, almost sweet flavor in the leaves to answer the taste of modern Japanese people who request sweet beverages.

However, we, at Rishouen, prize the flavor offered by traditionally grown Sencha, and are very grateful to Mr. Tsuji who is doing us the flavor of growing this tea according to our wishes.

2017 Sencha Z1 grown by Mr. Tamura in Wazuka – 85g, 1000 yen

This Sencha is grown by Mr. Tamura (who is now over 80 years old!) and his family on the top of a steep hill overlooking the valley below in Wazuka, Kyoto prefecture.

The cultivar Z1 is difficult to grow into flavorful tea, so only a few producers in Japan risk themselves at planting fields with Z1 cultivar tea trees.

Mr. Tamura tends to his fields perfectly, and the result is a real treat of a Sencha that is sweet both in fragrance and in flavor.

We are still receiving new teas in Aracha semi refined state, and will announce them slowly when they are refined into Shincha that are ready for shipping.

In the meantime, if you want some of the Shincha mentioned above for a taste of fresh spring, let us know!