Sencha Toga Higashitsuno

This first harvest sencha is from Tsuno Town of Kochi Prefecture, located in the Higashitsuno region of Shikoku Island. This region of Japan has been cultivating tea since the Edo period and maintains a reputation for its pristine environment in which tea plants thrive.

The Tosa Higashitsuno tea garden is located at 1300 ft elevation. Nearby is the Shimanto River, famous for being one of the three clearest river streams in Japan. Mist from Shimanto hovers over the garden year round, imparting its refreshing and clarifying qualities to the Yabukita tea trees growing there. The leaves are harvested in late April or early May.

At first this sencha is sweet, gentle and incredibly floral, carrying a bouquet of flowers in it, almost like a Taiwanese oolong. Its pale, limegreen liquor delivers a round, heavy mouthfeel. Its salinity appears in the second infusion, along with wispy lines of astringency that slow its passage across the tongue. By the third infusion the liquor is glowing very brightly and the flavour reaches its most intense state. It softens in subsequent infusions, remaining enjoyable and refreshing.