I had promised to do the review of all the 2021 shincha by adopting a short and simple format, but the faster arrival of new teas ultimately still delayed my good initiative. Update on the many new items. Sencha from… Read More ›
koshun
2020 first flush Japanese black teas
Although from the point of view of production quantities this is quite anecdotal, the fact remains that the quality of Japanese black teas has increased considerably over the past few years. It is a type of tea that I take… Read More ›
Kôshun sencha from Asamiya and tea refining in Japan
This sencha is one of the teas from my selection that I particularly cherish. It comes from Asamiya, a production region with ancient history, yet little known today. Asamiya is located in the Shiga prefecture, and is part of the… Read More ›
First flush Japanese black teas, and points about this phenomenon
My enthusiasm growing for this super minor category of Japanese tea that is the black teas, I will present my 2019 first flush selection after having once again presented the history of this unknwon tea category. Indeed, Japanese black teas,… Read More ›
Kôshun cultivar sencha from Asamiya
In 2016 I had the great pleasure of presenting a sencha from Asamiya (in the Shiga prefecture, Asamiya is a production area with ancient history, located just north of the border with Wazuka and Uji-tawara) made with the great cultivar… Read More ›
A brief history of Japanese black tea
After the introduction of Izumi black tea from Sashima, I would like to enlight with more details the history of Japanese black tea. For a dozen years, the production of Japanese black tea seems to take a new breath. After… Read More ›
Shizu-7132 and Kôshun sencha from Kawane
Alongside Hon.yama (town of Shizuoka) and Tenryû (town of Hamamatsu), Kawane is one of the three major regions of Shizuoka mountain tea production. So far, I have presented sencha from the Tsuchiya’s (Mizukawa sector), from Mr. Masui (Aobe), and from… Read More ›
Black tea from Ashikita, Kôshun cultivar
It has been a century and a half since Japan began producing black tea (or red tea if literally translated as kôcha (jp) hongcha (ch) 紅茶). Japan, however, does not have the image of a black tea producing country, it… Read More ›
Sencha from Mariko, Kôshun
Here is the 3rd 2016 sencha from Mariko I present this year after Kondô-wase and Kanaya Midori cultivars. If these three teas by Matsukawa Yôhei are all excellent, they are also all very different, though from the same mountainside. This… Read More ›
Kôshun black tea from Kawane
I mentioned last week Masui Etsuro, tea producer in Kawane through one of its sencha, Tsuyu-hikari cultivar. But more than these sencha I was first attracted by its black teas, this one in particular. These lovely leaves are made from… Read More ›
Shizuoka 2015 : Tenryû
The teas from mountainous areas of Shizuoka play an important role in my selection, they represent a personal ideal with low steamed teas, unshaded, produced on small production lines and high processing skills, etc. We often evokes three major producing… Read More ›
Shizuoka 2015, Tamakawa Kôshun
After presenting Tôbettô, the Yamakai and Sôfû cultivars from Tsukiji Estate in Tamakawa, here, finally, the Kôshun cultivar. From a mechanical harvesting, it is a little more “reasonable”, but still remains a great Sencha. This is actually the 4th Kôshun… Read More ›
2015 Shizuoka : Kondô-wase & Kôshun cultivar from Mariko
Following on from my last article on the excellent Yabukita sencha from Nihon-daira, I stay in Shizuoka in the district of Suruga, but this time in Mariko area. Here is the 2015 vintage of Mr. Matsukawa’s Kondô-wase 近藤早生 and a… Read More ›
Shizuoka 2014 part. 6, Fuji
Regulars to this blog and Thés du Japon online shop surely familiar with this producer, but I present it again briefly. At the foot of Mt Fuji, Akiyama Katsuhide is a passionate farmer and experimenter, the most remarkable fact is… Read More ›
Japanese Tea Sommelier 