Hattori-san's Kabuse Sencha

This is a guest tea from “Rare Tea Exchange”
Tea farmer Hattori-san has been working his family’s land for 6 generations. His small farm and workshop on the outskirts of Uji produces small quantities of high quality gyokuro and kabuse sencha. His hand picked, carefully processed tea represents the closest link possible between the farmer and the cup. The mellow, yet rich flavor of these shade-grown teas is unlike any Ujicha I’ve ever tasted. Packing a wonderful balance between the sweetness of a gyokuro, and the umami astringency of a sencha, the kabuse sencha from Hattori-san is partially shaded during the last several weeks of growth. This unique tea was one of my favorites on the trip. Brew it a bit cooler at 155 for 1.5-2 minutes for a wonderful taste.
A message from Michael Wood: My journey into tea started just three years ago, as a college student at Duke University. My close friend, Sam Iglesias, introduced me to some basic loose leaf green and black teas from Adagio. After graduation, we started TeaShow.TV, an online video tea review blog. At first, we thought it would be a great way to easily review good tea. Little did we know that TeaShow would be the foundation to meet some of the biggest names in the tea world, all while tasting great tea. Now a third year medical student, I’ve continued to learn more about tea and tea culture on my own. Throughout my social interactions with the tea community, I saw how Japanese teas are often misunderstood and easily overlooked. Furthermore, much of the Japanese loose leaf tea people were drinking was old, stale sencha with no history, and no taste. I decided to combine my background and experiences in Japan and set off on a mission with one goal: To bring back the finest Japanese teas, sourced directly from origin, and share them in America. My destination was Uji, a small town just outside of Kyoto city. Uji, though home to the birthplace of Japanese tea , produces just a small minority of Japanese tea. Uji-cha, as it’s called, is widely considered to be the highest quality Japanese tea available. I sought out teas that had the best taste, in small lots, from multi-generation family artisans. I’m proud and honored to be able to bring them to you, along with the rich history that surrounds them. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.