I am so glad I got this tea!
I’ve never had this cultivar before, so it was fun to notice the similarities and differences to others. I asked Florent (one of the owners) which of two Kabusechas to recommend, and he said this one. This isn’t technically a true Kabusecha, but the lines are very blurred (the leaves were shaded 1 week prior to picking).
As the description states, the tea is machine harvested, so the leaves are small. However, there are very little tiny bits of leaf like you would find in a fukamushi; instead, they are very consistent, dark, twisted leaves. When brewed, they open up very nicely as well.
Amazingly (for a Japanese green), the liquor is very consistent in color from steep to steep. Typically, I expect the first to be clearer, and the second to be quite dark and full of little bits of leaf. Instead, this tea is a very pleasing, bright, yellowish-green, every single time.
I’m going to have to keep cupping this to get a good description/idea of all the various aromas present, but it is definitely like fresh green beans, flowers, and has a sweet, delicious, noticeable aftertaste.
Once I had tasted the first sip, I was so thankful to know I’d have it around for a while!
