We don't know when or if this item will be available.
“brewed with Nosaka oxidation hohin, dried aroma and steamed aroma is a very rich enticing matcha green tea aroma, makes you want to eat it. liquor is light green, lighter than I’m accustomed with...” Read full tasting note
“This tea left a lasting impression. It’s aromatic and robust like a good long jing, but has more tannin and mineral notes. It’s sharp, flowery, grassy/herbal, and piney, with a very long sweet...” Read full tasting note
“A sencha made from 200-300 year old tea plants? Definitely worth trying. This wasn’t as “different” as I expected, but it was pleasant. Good lasting aftertaste, and it does indeed have a bit...” Read full tasting note
Most of the Japanese green tea available in commercial market is produced from garden tea tree at very young age. On the contrary, Kasuga Zairai Sencha is produced from very old tea tree, aged about 200-300 years old. In general, ordinary Japanese green tea gives a very upcoming “umami” taste, while Kasuga Zairai Sencha gives a totally different drinking feeling. This tea gives a very deep after taste and long lasting sweetness. You can enjoy this tea even though you drink while pinching your nose. Its flavour stimulates the palate, and it gives a fresh floral bouquet that lasts for a long time. Furthermore, Kasuga Zairai Sencha has clarity and a fresh pure taste, and is a rare treat when of Japanese green tea.
We sourced Kasuga Zairai Sencha specifically from the old tea tree aged about 200-300 years old. The old tree in Kasuga does not grow as tall as the ancient tea tree in Yunnan or Phoenix Mountain in China. In Kasuga, farmer manages the shape of tree and keeps it just up on the ground.
Kasuga Zairai Sencha is made without any usage of pesticide. The farmers in Kasuga village spent a lot of effort to prepare the natural fertilizer for tea trees. For instance, they went deep inside the mountain to collect grasses and sometimes they gathered straws from the field. Those natural materials are very rich in minerals and thus it contributes in increasing the sweetness and after taste of tea.
Company description not available.
Spring Sencha Zairai
Kirishima Tea FarmTsukigase Zairai Sencha
Hojo TeaHon Yama Zairai Sencha - 2010 1st Harvest Shizuoka Zairai Sencha
Norbu TeaOrganic Kagoshima Sencha Kirishima Zairai
Yuuki-chaJapan Obubu 'Kabuse Zairai' Sencha Green Tea
What-ChaSencha from Hon.yama, Umegashima, Nyûjima "Zairai"
Thés du Japonbrewed with Nosaka oxidation hohin, dried aroma and steamed aroma is a very rich enticing matcha green tea aroma, makes you want to eat it.
liquor is light green, lighter than I’m accustomed with sencha. mineral notes, floral after taste, grassy/herbal undertones, pine freshness. Everything in moderation, a touch on the light side of flavor. Aftertaste was moderate, didn’t notice much of it linger. I also couldn’t oversteep this, I tried.
Sedated me, I had to lay down for about 45 minutes….twice. I really wasn’t expecting that! I guess that’s testimony to the age of the tea trees, supposedly 200-300 years old. I think it would be easier to validate the age of Japanese tea trees vs puerh teas, since a lot of Japanese tea gardens are many centuries old passed down generation to generation.
In puerh world we’d call this a “stoner” tea. Also some stomach warming (lower dan tien area) cha qi. Also body warming, later in the evening finishing the session I started sweating and face grew warm/flush.
Solid afternoon tea if you want to take a nap and snooze for a bit.
This tea left a lasting impression. It’s aromatic and robust like a good long jing, but has more tannin and mineral notes. It’s sharp, flowery, grassy/herbal, and piney, with a very long sweet finish that reminds me of a good sheng pu’er. It’s refreshing sharpness is makes it a perfect morning pick-me-up. I’m thinking of getting more now to take advantage of the weak yen.
Flavors: Flowers, Herbs, Mineral, Pine, Vegetal
A sencha made from 200-300 year old tea plants? Definitely worth trying. This wasn’t as “different” as I expected, but it was pleasant. Good lasting aftertaste, and it does indeed have a bit more of a minerality to it than a standard sencha, as the lengthy description of the tea on the vendor’s website suggests.
