Matcha “Yame no Tsuyu”

星野抹茶 八女の露

Origin
Yame, Fukuoka

This matcha powder confronts us with a rich, metallic umami smell. With water it opens like an ocean garden: a warm, seashell-like flavour emerges from its light green froth. It is reminiscent of slick, mineral laden wakame and these oceanic qualities are tempered by a long lasting, earthy sweetness. 

2g ⋅ 80°C ⋅ 60ml ⋅ bamboo whisk

. . .

Yame, Fukuoka is a tea producing region famous for gyokuro 玉露 and matcha.  It is located on the southernmost Japanese island of Kyushu. The tea comes from what was once a small village named Hoshino, before it merged with neighbouring villages to form the city of Yame. Yame spans a mountainous area, with the Hoshino River flowing through it from East to West.

The land here is very fertile and, at a higher altitude, the air is continually moist and foggy. Tea trees grow steadily and slowly in these conditions, which gives both their tea’s sweetness and its savory, “umami” flavors depth and complexity.