三重水沢抹茶

Category: Green Tea
Origin: JAPAN, Mie Prefecture, Yokkaichi Town, Suizawa area.
Cultivar: Samidori
Quantity: 30g per can
Harvest: Spring (May)
 
Location:
Suizawa is located at the foot of Suzuka mountain. The climate is warm and the has a large temperature amplitude between day and night. It gets moderate rainfall but the soil being porous offers good drainage. The most represented and respectable tea produced in Mie is called Kabusecha (See the Mie Ise Kabusecha page for details of this particular product). Kabuse means “cover”. When shaded for prolonged periods of 20 days or more, the tea can be used for Gyokuro or Matcha production.
 
It is assumed that tea cultivation in the Ise district began in the Heian Period (794 to 1185) when monks planted tea seeds and transmitted their know-how to apprentices until today. Tea made in Mie prefecture is generally called Ise tea even when not made in Ise town.
 
Mie was the main producing tea region during the Meiji era when tea (including red/black tea) was exported to the US and to Europe but is still a major producing area.
 
Today, Mie is the 3rd producing prefecture of tea in Japan by quantity. Despite this status, few people even in Japan are aware of Mie tea (or Ise tea). This is due to the fact that Mie tea has been sold to other regions as excellent blending material to produce famous teas from Kyoto, Shizuoka and Fukuoka.
 
Description:
The cultivar Samidori was developed in the pre-war Uji lineage of elite shaded tea cultivars. Along with Asahi, it became a reference cultivar for traditional matcha in Kyoto.
 
It is a quality-first, terroir-driven cultivar optimized for shaded amino-acid expression, not for mass sencha production.
 
Color:  deep, vivid green (high chlorophyll retention)
Taste profile: High umami (L-theanine retention under shade), soft sweetness, extremely low bitterness & astringency. Balanced and non-aggressive aromatic profile
Texture & body: creamy / velvety mouthfeel
 
This matcha is produced using only spring harvested tea and shaded for 20 days before being picked. It is produced by Hagimura-san tea farm, with who we have a long standing relationship.
 
This is an excellent product for beginners who want to drink pure matcha.
Note that it can be prepared and enjoyed as "thick" tea koicha 濃茶 as per the way of tea.
 
Preparation:
Use 3 scoops of "chashaku" spatula (3g - 0.10 oz) of matcha powder in a matcha bowl "chawan". We recommend to sift the powder to avoid the formation of lumps.
Prepare 120ml of water at 80°C (176°F)
Pour 10-15ml and mix with the whisk to obtain a regular paste
Pour the rest of the warm water
Whisk (preferably with a bamboo whisk "chasen") until the obtention of a homogen foam
 
For a cold preparation, follow the same procedure as above but use cold or room temperature water instead. Note that using cold water may make it more refreshing but also more difficult to foam.