Yame Award Winner Yabukita Shincha

2026 Harvest · Award-Winning Limited Batch · Yame, Fukuoka

Yabukita is the most widely grown tea cultivar in Japan, but that does not mean all Yabukita tastes the same.

This extremely limited award-winning shincha from Yame shows what the cultivar can become when exceptional leaves, careful farming, and precise processing come together.

Yabukita is famous for its balance. Rather than pushing strongly toward only sweetness or only umami, it can bring together fresh aroma, savory depth, gentle sweetness, pleasant astringency, and the clean green character many people associate with classic Japanese sencha.

Because Yabukita is so common, it can sometimes be overlooked by tea drinkers searching for rarer cultivars. But at its best, Yabukita is not ordinary at all. Its strength is its clarity and balance.

This tea is a good example of why the cultivar became so important to Japanese tea in the first place.

Why Yame?

Yame, in Fukuoka Prefecture, is one of Japan's most respected tea-producing regions and is particularly known for teas with deep umami, elegant sweetness, and refined texture.

Many of Yame's tea gardens are surrounded by hills and mountain valleys where morning mist, cooler nights, and noticeable differences between daytime and nighttime temperatures can slow the growth of the tea leaves.

That slower development can help create teas with greater sweetness, aroma, and depth.

Yame is especially famous for producing some of Japan's most celebrated gyokuro, but the same attention to leaf quality and careful processing can also produce extraordinary sencha.

In this Yabukita, the naturally balanced character of the cultivar meets Yame's tendency toward softer, sweeter, more umami-driven teas.

The cup begins with fresh spring greens and a clean savory depth, but what makes this batch especially memorable is what develops afterward. A lily-like floral freshness appears on the back of the palate, followed by a cool, refreshing sweetness that reminds us of fresh green melon.

These notes give the tea a surprisingly light and refreshing finish despite its depth of umami.

An Award-Winning Limited Batch

Award teas are not simply about making a tea stronger or more intense.

At this level, small details matter: the quality and uniformity of the leaves, when they are harvested, how they are steamed, how evenly they are rolled and dried, and how clearly the finished tea expresses its aroma, texture, sweetness, and finish.

This is a very limited batch, and that is part of what makes teas like this special. It is not designed to be produced in large quantities or taste identical every year.

It is a snapshot of one harvest, one growing season, and one carefully produced lot.

What Is Shincha?

Shincha means “new tea” and refers to the first teas produced from the new spring harvest.

After resting through winter, the tea plants begin producing tender new growth in spring. These young leaves are prized for their freshness, aroma, sweetness, and lively green character.

With shincha, freshness itself is part of the experience.

This 2026 Yabukita has the recognizable freshness of early spring tea, but beneath that brightness is the structure that makes excellent Yabukita so satisfying: fresh greens, balanced umami, gentle sweetness, and just enough refreshing astringency to keep the cup lively.

As the tea settles on the palate, the character becomes more delicate. There is a fresh lily-like quality toward the back of the mouth, followed by a juicy green melon sweetness that makes the finish feel especially cooling and refreshing.

Rather than being overwhelmingly rich, it feels clean, precise, floral, and beautifully balanced.

For tea drinkers familiar with everyday Yabukita, this is an opportunity to experience how different the cultivar can taste when produced at an award-winning level.

How to Brew

5g | 220–250ml kyusu/Japanese teapot | 165°F / 74°C | 90 seconds

This temperature keeps the tea sweet and umami-rich while still allowing Yabukita's refreshing green character and delicate floral notes to come through.

For the second infusion, steep for approximately 20–30 seconds.

Cold Brew

1g per 50ml room-temperature water | Refrigerate for approximately 1 hour

Cold brewing emphasizes the tea's sweetness and refreshing character, bringing forward the green melon notes while softening its natural astringency.

Character: Fresh Spring Greens, Lily, Green Melon, Refined Umami, Gentle Sweetness, Clean Savory Finish