Kagoshima Award Winner Shincha

If you enjoy a more savory sencha with fresh vegetable notes this Kagoshima Award Winning Shincha may be for you.

This Kagoshima Award Winning Shincha is a fukamushi (deep steamed) sencha that invites you in with a refreshing aroma of fresh vegetables and a beautiful deep green color. The tea is smooth and has a silky mouthfeel that sits in the sides of your mouth. It has a savory profile with notes of roasted corn that lingers and a sweet candied grape aftertaste that makes you keep going back for more. 

Shincha (新茶), meaning “new tea,” is the first harvest of the Japanese tea season and is the freshest form of sencha, highly prized for bright, vegetal, and slightly sweet flavor profile. Shincha contains less catechin, which can cause bitterness, and has more amino acids, which enhances sweetness, resulting in a smooth, umami-rich taste with minimal astringency. Because the tea plants have stored nutrients during winter dormancy, Shincha leaves are packed with vitamins and amino acids.

To Brew: Use a 150-180ml kyuusu with 5 grams of tea leaves and fill 80% of the kyuusu with 175°F (79.4°C). Because this tea is fukamushi (deep steamed), for the best flavor and sweetness, only steep for a quick 15-17 seconds. 

Although Shizuoka is the most famous region in Japan for tea cultivation, Kagoshima is another premier tea-growing region only second to Shizuoka. Kagoshima is located on the southern island of Kyushu, with a warm subtropical climate that encourages a faster growth rate for the tea plants, leading to a softer leaf texture, which in turn produces teas with a smoother, less bitter taste. The region’s volcanic, nutrient-rich soil also contributes to producing flavorful teas packed with umami like this Award winning Shincha.

For a satisfying sencha experience with a perfect balance of savory and sweet, try this Kagoshima Award Winning Shincha for yourself.