Sencha – Yabukita – First Prize in 75th Hinpyoukai 2021 Sencha 4kg Category

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.

Notes For This Particular Tea:
This sencha is one of the most special that we have ever carried, scoring 200 out of 200 marks in the 75th Hinpyoukai national tea fair (2021), winning the First Prize out of 108 submissions to the futsumushi sencha 4kg category. It is a single cultivar Yabukita, as the vast majority of sencha 4kg submissions are, and is grown and processed in Sayama city in Saitama prefecture. Futsumushi encompasses light and medium steamings, whereas fukamushi sencha has its own category in the competition. Teas are judged on four criteria; appearance, water colour, aroma, and flavour, and this tea scored top marks in each. It has a particularly clean yet gentle umami flavour throughout, which can be isolated if using room temperature water, with astringency extracted when using higher temperatures that is very satisying to drink in the later infusions. Enjoy not only the delicious taste, but the whole experience of witnessing the change in the delicately rolled leaves, how the fresh aroma and the water colour change with the infusions.

Sencha has a variety of tasting notes; umami (savoury), amami (sweetness), shibumi (astringency) and nigami (bitterness). For high grade sencha like this you can try a pre-infusion using a very small amount of ice water at 5-10°C for around 20 seconds, using roughly 2.5 times the water than the tea (experimentation is encouraged!). This can give a good introduction to the umami flavour of the tea while extracting minimal bitterness and astringency, but bear in mind that depending on the brewing duration the later infusions may contain less umami flavour. In this way, water temperature can be used to control the taste of the tea. If you prefer a combination of the savoury umami with some astringency and/or bitterness, you can try higher temperatures (around 70-85°C), but this tea’s growing and processing allows us to focus on the umami flavour very easily.

If you have experimented with sencha and have a personal preference please feel free to use your own brewing method for this special tea. Our recommendation is listed below.

Hot brewing guide:
Sencha 5 grams (~1 teaspoon)
Water 60ml
First infusion 20°C for 120sec
Second infusion 70°C for 20sec
Third infusion 85°C for 0sec
Fourth infusion
Fifth infusion

Cold brewing guide:
Sencha 5 grams
Water: 300ml 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.

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