Tea sourcing batch n.239 - Teas from Japan - Kabusecha Gounpou, Kyoto Prefecture - She Fang Boutique Tea

Tea sourcing batch n.239 - Teas from Japan - Kabusecha Gounpou, Kyoto Prefecture

We always source teas very carefully! No matter what kind of tea it is or for who it is.
With our ruthless eyes, sinister noses and intense taste buds we take our job seriously. We take NO excuses, No political sides, No influence from previously excellent plantations or batches, No influence from famous legends, famous locations or even price in consideration. Our minds are clear as the sky (not Scottish!) and our tasting sheets are empty..... awaiting the verdicts.
We briefly scan the dried leaves first and smell the fragrance, yet we know not to conclude all our hopes, wishes and scores at this point as appearance is not all that important (it is but even ugly tea can taste fantastic! :). Then we inspect the infused leaves, smell the aroma and look at their structure – in this step you can actually see lots as the leaves unfold showing off the whole growing and manufacturing story. In the last and most crucial point we spend a long time on tasting the liquor: it's aroma, colour, texture, body, taste, after-taste and astringency - firstly when the liquor is hot and then when it cools down.
And WE LOVE IT!
Batch 239 is very special to us as it has been delivered directly from Japan by a wonderful and highly respected friend Mr. Hidetaka Hayashi “President and founder of Hayashi Coffee institute”. He is an absolute speciality coffee master and also speciality tea star!
We would like to thank him from the bottom of our hearts for this beautiful tea bundle he sent!
1) Sencha by ITO-EN from Schizuoka Prefecture
2) Sencha by ITO-EN from Kagoshima Prefecture
3) Gyokuro ”Yame” from Fukuoka Prefecture
4) Kabusecha Gounpou (Gyokuro) Uji, Kyoto Prefecture
4) Kabusecha Gounpou, Uji, Kyoto pref.: Superb! Sweet & Vegetal.
Kabusecha is also shade-grown tea like Gyokuro, yet the bushes are covered only for 2 weeks prior to the harvest and the canopies are made of synthetic material and are less dense. Processing is more mechanical to reduce cost. Kabusecha tea is compromise between Sencha and Gyokuro.

Dried Leaf: The dried leaves are mixture of needles and broken leaves, bigger in size than sencha and uniformly dark green. They release minty, nutty and herbal aroma with hints of green veggie and dried wood.
Infused Leaf: Infused leaves are green and muddy with dill, asparagus and cooked green beans aroma.
Liquor: The light green liquid is clouded and holds an aroma of spring greens, herbs and golden hay. The mouth-feel is gentle, rich and creamy with notes of apricots, honeysuckle and nutmeg. The intense vegetal notes creates a tiny bit of umami astringency. The after-taste is sweet and warming.