Shincha Saemidori 2022 No.353

They picked the leaves on the last days of April, thus the arrival at our tea shop was on the 5th of May.

In Japan, the first flush green teas are called Shincha. They have a nice sweet world of taste with elegant, fresh notes, while the bitterness is slight. According to our Japanese tea master, Mr. Masahiro, the weather this spring was really favorable to Shinchas, the dawns were not too cold, and the rain was moderate. Thus we are happy to welcome an outstanding vintage. The Saemidori varietal gives its buds really early and produces rich, and tasty teas.

Teas made from the first buds are highly valued in all tea-growing regions. In the early days of spring, when the first buds broke, the newly unfolding tea leaves are delicate and gentle, and the buds contain more sugar, amino acids, and other flavor compounds than at any other time of the year. While in China green teas are traditionally baked, in Japan they are usually steamed. Thanks to this process the leaves can keep their natural greenness which gives them freshness and vitalizing energy.

One of Uji’s ancient tea gardens, the Kōzan-ji (高山寺) temple is tended by the Yoshida family for 16 generations now. This degree of proficiency echoes in their teas too: refined and extremely balanced flavors supplemented with beautiful elegance.

Besides the following recommendation for preparation, worth to try it with Mr. Masahiro’s recipe. We put 3 grams of Sincha to every 100 ml of water, pour it with 80ºC water, and steep it for 60 seconds. When we try this method, we got more constant, stable tea with amazing umami notes.

Preparing Instructions:

Quantity: 5-6 grams per 180ml
Water temperature: 70-80ºC. From fresh spring, mineral water, or filtered water
Brewing time: 45… seconds
Infusions: 2-3