Sencha – Kuma san’s Kirari 31

Notes For This Particular Tea:
This tea is a single cultivar Kirari 31 grown by Kuma san, a 3rd generation tea farmer in Jouyoumachi, Yame, Fukuoka. The tea bushes in this field were planted in 2016, when Cha-ology was born, so we have a particular affinity towards this tea. The Kirari 31 cultivar is a cross between Saemidori (itself a cross between Yabukita and Asatsuyu) and Sakimidori. Kirari 31 has gained a lot of attention since being officially registered in 2016, and especially in recent years. Due to its naturally high umami and sweetness, and naturally low astringency and bitterness, Kirari is suitable to be grown and processed as gyokuro as well as high grade sencha. The Fukuoka prefectural chahinpyoukai winner in the gyokuro category in 2025 was a Kirari 31 Yame Dentou Hon Gyokuro. Kuma san chose to shade the tea plants for a few days before harvest because the tea is still young (tea plants usually live to around 45 years old before the yield declines significantly), and he wants to extract a more elegant flavour profile. This method of shading sencha for a few days before harvest is common across Japan, despite not being widely known outside of the tea industry. We were honoured to be at Kuma san’s tea farm for several days during the 2025 shincha harvest, and personally helped to remove the shading material from this Kirari tea field. We witnessed Kuma san harvest the tea, and accompanied him to the tea processing factory where it was steamed within about 30minutes of being picked. Thank you so much Kuma san!

The above images and below videos were taken by us during our visit to Kuma san’s tea farm. Please witness the harvest of this tea. You may see some of the exact same tea leaves you are drinking!

Sencha is a delicate tea and is sensitive to hot water temperatures. Because of this, please remember to cool the water down at least for the first infusion if you wish to enjoy the umami flavour. In order to enjoy the variety of tasting notes present (umami, amami-sweetness, shibumi-astringency and nigami-bitterness), we recommend controlling the water temperature according to the brewing guide below. Lower temperatures will bring out the umami and amami and with higher temperatures the shibumi and nigami will become more pronounced. In addition to the tasting profile changing in each infusion, you will also witness the bright neon green change to a darker, more intense shade.

Please experiment with brewing to find your personal preference. A good starting point is listed below.

Hot brewing guide:
Sencha 4 grams (~1 teaspoon)
Water 70ml
First infusion 60°C for 50sec
Second infusion 70°C for 10sec
Third infusion 80°C for 5sec

Cold brewing guide:
Sencha 12 grams
Water 800ml for 6-12 hours
Spring or filtered water is recommended (specifically we look for a TDS of 30-80 - if you’re in the north of england tap water should be fine, and if you’re in the south you are probably familiar with water filters already). Simply pour the tea leaves on water and keep in the fridge overnight, or for 6-12 hours. Avoid vigorous handling/shaking. We use an ice and water mixture so that the brewing temperature is around 6 degrees celcius from start to finish, but forgoing the ice is absolutely okay. The duration of the brew can be experimented with to find your personal preference and when you are happy with the flavour, strain and dispose of the leaves. Consume within 24 hours.

Steamed Tea Background Information:
Steamed teas like sencha are one of the most traditional types of Japanese green tea. There are three main types of sencha; asamushi (light steamed, ~15seconds), chuumushi (medium steamed, ~15-45seconds), fukamushi (deep steamed, ~45+seconds). Lighter steamed teas tend to produce a golden yellow colour. Deep steamed teas however can produce vivid green colours usually with a thicker texture, and due to the longer steaming time the leaves are mostly broken and fragmented with many small particles, meaning we consume more nutrients (and caffeine!). Asamushi sencha leaves are mostly intact, rolled into needle shapes which unfold more attractively as infusions progress. Shincha (meaning new tea) is tea that has been picked during the first harvest of the year – in spring. Later harvests have drastically lower amounts of amino acids (which give us umami and sweetness) and higher catechin levels (astringency and some bitterness). After harvest the tea is steamed straight away to halt oxidisation, and will then go on to be dried and rolled through various processes, finally being fired (hiire) to further dry the leaves to under 5% moisture, and impart the final taste. Some Japanese green teas are made from blends of different cultivars or regions, and some are single cultivar (similar to coffee/whisky). Blends are created by tea masters who taste many teas and then choose a selection to combine for a desired final taste that is easier to replicate year after year by adjusting the cultivar ratios. Single cultivar teas show the drinker how that year’s particular harvest was for that cultivar, as easy year can be quite different. This allows the drinker to build up a mental profile of that cultivar’s characteristics with time, bearing in mind there will also be large influences from the region/terroir and the specific farmer and producer’s growing and finishing methods.

Storage:
Store in a cold environment (6-10°C) and avoid exposure to light, air, heat, moisture and strong smells - these will degrade your tea. Best consumed within 1-2 months from when it is first opened.