The women of the Hori family shades their field of Gokou cultivar tea plants for about 3 weeks prior to harvest in May to create a umami-rich green tea.

The Gokou cultivar is an unregistered cultivar that was specifically made to suit the soil and climate of Kyoto Prefecture, where the Kiroku Tea Garden is based. This cultivar is very well-suited for shading and therefore is sure to make a high quality kabusecha! Please note that this is a Kabusecha Aracha, meaning that it is unrefined tea.

Product Info

• Ingredients: Green tea
• Cultivar: Gokou (primary cultivar used)
• Harvest: May
• Notes: Shaded for about 3 weeks, no pesticides used prior to harvest. Synthetic fertilizers used.
• Region: Wazuka Village, Kyoto Prefecture

Steeping Recommendation

Tea: 5 grams. Time: 1 min. Water: 70C/158F, 200 ml. Resteep up to 3 times.

About the Garden

The 4th generation Kiroku Tea Garden is in the heart of Wazuka, Kyoto prefecture, an area whose mountain tea fields and undulating terraced slopes thick with fog make perfect tea-growing conditions. Founded nearly 100 years ago, before cars and farming machinery were available, their mountain fields were cleared by hand by the Great-Grandfather of sisters Megumi and Ui Hori.

Today, with their mother, the sisters find themselves in the unusual position of being a farm entirely owned and operated by women. After the passing of their father, the three women took over the running of the farm to continue their family’s legacy, one that began in these fields all those years ago. In the male-dominated tea agriculture and production industry, their efforts are a challenge to the status quo. At Yunomi, we are proud to support their dedication. To learn more about the Kiroku Tea Garden, please check out our interview with Ui Hori (posted April 2021).