Sencha from Hon.yama, Tamakawa, Sôfû cultivar

Tea type
Green Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Astringent, Beans, Bittersweet, Butter, Cinnamon, Drying, Floral, Fruity, Grassy, Green, Mandarin, Meat, Pear, Persimmon, Pine, Pineapple, Round, Sakura, Seaweed, Strawberry, Sweet, Umami, Vanilla, Vegetal, Wheatgrass
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by derk
Average preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 1 min, 0 sec 4 g 2 oz / 70 ml

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  • “April 18/25 2021 harvest With only a few servings left of the 50g bag, it’s time to attempt some kind of description of this sencha. My multiple notes literally got scattered all over the place...” Read full tasting note
    80

From Thés du Japon

Floral, cinnamon, vanilla
Umami★★☆☆ / Astringency★★☆☆
Body★★★☆ / Firing★★☆☆

Here is a very fine sencha from Hon.yama, hand-harvested in the mountains of Tamakawa on the famous Tsukiji garden.

Sôfû, a cross between Yabukita and Shizu-Inzatsu-131, has inherited Indian origins from the latter cultivar. It is an Inzatsu, a cultivar highly celebrated for its typical floral, sweet fragrance.

The scent of the leaves is very strong and intense. Beyond the typical floral aspect of this type of cultivar, there are also fruity notes and, especially, spicy notes that evoke cinnamon and vanilla. All of this is in the first attack in the mouth, very rich in aromas. The liquor is very mellow and smooth, and the aftertaste is incredibly broad and rich, revealing exceptional sweet length. This is a sencha that promises a large number of infusions.

The liquor is very pure, very pristine, but without the tannic aspect that is often found in senchas that come from ’’inzatsu’’ cultivars. It only has a slight, pleasant astringency that gives it texture. This Japanese tea from Hon.yama, with its delicacy and sweetness, has just the right amount of umami without being excessive and still being very natural.
It is one of the greats. A powerful, rich tea with tropical accents that are very pleasant in the nose, mouth and throat.

Type of tea : Futsumushi (normal-steamed) sencha
Origin : Terao, Tamakawa Area, Aoi Borough, Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture
Cultivar : Sôfû
Harvest : April 18th, 25th, 2021, hand harvest

Brewing suggestion

Quantity of leaves: 4-5g / 1.2-1.5 tsp Quantity of water : 70ml / 1/4 cup Water temperature : 80°C / 176°F Brewing time : 60s

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1 Tasting Note

80
1541 tasting notes

April 18/25 2021 harvest

With only a few servings left of the 50g bag, it’s time to attempt some kind of description of this sencha. My multiple notes literally got scattered all over the place and I can only find this one now.

Dry leaf has a lush, deep green aroma. Very fruity, strawberry-pineapple-sakura-pine, sometimes mandarin orange-Asian pear attached to that hyphenation.

Wet leaf smells very meaty, can’t get the idea of Vienna sausages out of my head. I guess that’s the umami revealing itself, much moreso in the wet leaf than in the taste. Dark green wet grass, subdued flowers.

The tea is such a moving mix of flavors and sensations. I find it difficult to sit with the tea but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy drinking it. Active tea means activity. Rich, persimmonsweet flavor. Rather smooth, fruity with a bitter-bright vegetal taste, piney backdrop. Fairly light rounded umami that is not a distinct note or aftertaste. Floral-fruity-bitter-brightgrassy finish. Fruity aftertaste later turns piney-fruity.

There is some bitterness-astringency in the throat that quickly brings about returning sweetness. Cool inhalations, a light chill lines the inner perimeter of my lips. Feels like my body is breathing. Bottom of the cup smells like sakura. Only in later steeps do I notice the cinnamon and vanilla described by Thés du Japon, mostly in the aroma.

I also really like this western brewed. Probably around 1g:100mL, 2-3 min?, 2-3 steeps. It’s so refreshing. Good astringency mixed with gentle cooked white bean and seaweed overtone, butter. Not fruity as prepared in my small clay teapot but I feel like I get hints of it all here and there. Returning sweetness.

Flavors: Astringent, Beans, Bittersweet, Butter, Cinnamon, Drying, Floral, Fruity, Grassy, Green, Mandarin, Meat, Pear, Persimmon, Pine, Pineapple, Round, Sakura, Seaweed, Strawberry, Sweet, Umami, Vanilla, Vegetal, Wheatgrass

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 1 min, 0 sec 4 g 2 OZ / 70 ML

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