Tencha - Saemidori by Kuma Masahiro

About Tencha:
Tencha is a rare tea to find in its leaf form. It is grown the same as gyokuro - indirectly shaded from sunlight for 3-4 weeks before harvest, then steamed immediately and dried. The final drying process is done in a special oven called a tencharo. Instead of being rolled, tencha is de-stemmed and de-veined, leaving small flakes of the tea leaves. In the case of quality tea, these flakes are then put into a stone mill and slowly stone ground in chilled rooms to reduce oxidation. This is how good quality matcha is grown and processed! The vast majority of tencha is ground into matcha so not many people know where matcha actually comes from! The colour of the leaf flakes is deep blue green which is a good sign that the leaves have been shaded before harvest, as the tea plant will over produce chlorophyll during the stressful shading time, and the leaves will even stretch out to increase their surface area in an attempt to catch as much light as possible. Each cultivar has its own shade of green, so even given the same growing conditions, some cultivars will be more green than others.

About Matcha:
Matcha in kanji means ground tea, but doesn’t specify exactly which tea leaves are used - the large majority of high grade matcha is ground from tencha, though occasionally gyokuro (the king of Japanese teas) may be used. Tencha and gyokuro are grown in relatively the same way; covered from the sun and grown in varying amounts of shade for the last 16-30 days prior to harvest. This covering blocks direct sunlight and interrupts photosynthesis, stressing the plant and changing the flavour of the tea as the amino acids inside the tea leaves are prevented from changing into catechins, resulting in a higher level of amino acids (which give umami flavour and sweetness) in shaded tea compared to unshaded tea. The difference between tencha and gyokuro is after being steamed and dried there is no need for tencha to be rolled as it is usually ground into matcha, whereas gyokuro leaves are rolled into thin needle shapes. It has been speculated that lower grade matcha that is more yellow in colour or particularly bitter could have been ground from later harvest tea, or sencha or bancha tea leaves which are not grown under any shade at all. Matcha can be made from blends of different cultivars or regions, or single cultivar (like coffee). Blends are created by tea masters who taste many teas and select a number of them to blend in order to create their desired final taste.

All photos were taken by us in person during one of our visits to Kuma san and his cousin Nakatani san. Above you can see some photos from the exact same tea field that this Tencha is grown in! It shares the field with Kuma san’s Yame Dentou Hon Gyokuro.

Notes for this particular tea:
This Saemidori Tencha is a blend of the 2021 and 2023 harvests of the same single cultivar tea (Saemidori). It was produced in Jouyoumachi, Yame, in Fukuoka prefecture by Kuma san, a third generation tea farmer and producer, grown right next to his gyokuro in the award winning field that won first prize with 200/200 marks at the 71st a chahinpyoukai in 2017. The leaves are shaded with traditional rice straw (honzu saibai), and hand picked in the first and only harvest of the year. The taste profile of this tea has a distinct and delicious element of freshness that we have not tasted before. It is bright and clean umami, with an extremely satisfying lingering sweetness. This is the same tencha that is stone ground into Kuma san’s Saemidori Matcha which you may have seen us add to our Yame matcha collection and that we are extremely proud to have the privelage of doing! It is common for tea producers to keep some of each tea’s harvest to compare against in later years or even blend with in the future. As long as the tea is kept in its loose leaf form at very low temperatures, the freshness can be protected very well, but once ground into matcha should be enjoyed as soon as possible, ideally within a few months.

Japanese green tea is best prepared with soft water, to enjoy the complexity of flavour. Please experiment when brewing tea as personal preference plays a large part in brewin. The four variables to test are; amount of tea, amount of water, temperature of water, and duration of each infusion. A good starting point can be found below:

Cold brewing guide:
Tencha 9 grams
Water 800ml @ 5-20°C*
Duration 14 hours in the fridge
*We find that using room temperature water for cold brewing gives the best flavour, but pre-chilled or ice water works very well too.

Hot brewing guide:
Tencha 3 grams
Water 50ml-100ml depending on intensity preference
First infusion 60°C for 150sec
Second infusion 85°C for 30sec
Third infusion 90°C for 10sec

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. Once opened, standard loose leaf steamed tea is best consumed within 4-6 weeks, high grade steamed tea like this is best within 3-4 weeks.