A special, premium light steamed sencha, extra early spring harvest from the mountains of Kawane Village, Shizuoka, just 30kg of yabukita cultivar tea leaf was carefully picked by handheld scissors just after the first bud and two leaves appeared. The leaves at this time were still in their yellowish green state, extremely young and tender, and lightly steamed to preserve their fine shape.

This comes from a young, independent farmer, Ishima Sachio-san, training under his father Etsuro at the Marufuto Tea Garden, cousins of Kanes Tea’s Komatsu Naomi. The interconnected nature of Japanese tea family businesses is on full display here as Sachio-san’s leaf is refined by the Komatsu family of Kanes.

Sachio-san is proving to be a very talented farmer whose skill shows through in this yabukita, grown unshaded yet delicately sweet—yabukita is the most commonly grown cultivar in Japan and often more bitter, but when cultivated by expert hands, is often sencha at its highest level.

The Ishima family has been cultivating tea from at least 1730, and Sachio-san will be its 9th generation master. Their brand name marufuto (see box photo) meaning thick (Maru refers to the circle, futoi means thick) was created by Komatsu-san’s grandfather wishing for a strong, long lasting farm.

Steeping notes

• For a strong bodied tea: Tea: 5g. Time: 30 sec. Water: 80C/175F, 200 ml.
• For a rich but lighter tea: Tea: 3g. Time: 60 sec. Water: 60C/140F, 200 ml.
• Resteep 3 times, use a quick in-out 2nd steep (which ends up being about 5-10 seconds), and 30-60 seconds for the 3rd steep. Depending on your preference, you may be able to get another cup or two from this leaf.

Product Info

• Ingredients: Green Tea
• Cultivar: Yabukita
• Harvest: Late April
• Region: Shizuoka Prefecture
• Steaming: Deep steamed (Fukamushi)

Producer Info

• Name: Kanes Tea Factory
• Location: Shimada, Shizuoka, Japan.