Shincha Hoshi no Hatsutsumi

新茶・星野はつつみ

Harvest
May 2023

Origin
Yame, Fukuoka

Yame, Fukuoka is a tea producing region famous for gyokuro 玉露.  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.

This is our first year receiving shincha (fresh new sencha) from Hoshino. Their senchas are produced in the same style as their famous gyokuro, offering us a rich and savoury green tea that lies somewhere between categories.

This special shincha is crafted to showcase the epitome of sencha from Hoshino. Only the youngest and most tender new buds from the best varieties, Saemidori and Yuhikari, are used to make this tea. Its craftsmanship for this follows the same method of the gyokuro this region is famous for, resulting in a refined and slightly unusual sencha with a long-lasting fragrance.

The tea brews a strikingly clear and sweet liquor. It reminds us that with quality in sencha comes simplicity and clarity. There is no cloudiness to the water, or bitterness on the tongue. Instead we are met with a voluminous green liquid sphere that feels dense, and somehow wholly intact, in the mouth. Its mouthfeel is so compelling and soothing, we taste this tea more for the medium that it is than the discrete flavours or references it may carry within it. 

Net weight 100g

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Brewing guide