This is an excellent example to showcase how diverse Japanese tea can be. Kourogi san’s experimental nature led him to this hybrid tea, in which he doesn’t stop after the ichou kamairi process, but to add the baisen step at the end, meaning roasting. Made from a blend of selected cultivars. Imagine his signature ichou kamairicha with an extra layer of roastiness. Absolute delicious on its own, or after an evening meal.

Kamairicha and Kourogi san Background Information:
Kamairicha is pan fried tea, that is not steamed at all unlike most Japanese tea. Even houjicha, roasted tea, is usually roasted from a steamed tea. Pan frying and steaming are two methods used to halt oxidisation/wilting of the tea leaves after harvest, as the high temperatures stop enzymes from breaking down the leaves. Kamairicha is not a tea that is known for umami flavour, and that is because of the processing technique of pan frying rather than steaming. Instead, you can expect fresh and floral flavours depending on the cultivar, and to extract the flavours well temperatures of 90-100 degrees are often used. The higher temperature can bring out some pleasant astringency, while using lower temperatures of 70-80 degrees taste somewhat empty in comparison. Kourogi san himself uses water just off the boil (he uses the sound of the water to know when its ready, not a thermometer!).

Kyushu is a region famous for kamairicha production, especially Miyazaki prefecture where Kourogi san is based. He is an incredibly well respected tea farmer and producer who has specialised in organic growing for over 20 years, and is a household name associated with pan fried tea for those in the industry! Before training people to use machinery to pan fry tea, he always teaches them to do it by hand first, to fully understand the process. Kourogi san is also is contracted to grow tea in Hokkaido - the most northern part of Japan - which must be very difficult due to the cold climate!