This is one of our unique senchas, made from Tsukigase's spring tea. We conducted a longer withering process to enhance its flavor, resulting in a gentle floral scent reminiscent of Taiwan's high mountain oolong tea—a lightly fermented style with a pleasant, refreshing floral note like spring in the highlands. It also has hints of sweet, nutty notes and a smooth drinking sensation that lasts for several brews.
What is the Withering Process?
The purpose of withering is to dehydrate the fresh tea leaves. Dehydration stress activates enzymes that cause moderate fermentation of the polyphenols. At the same time, terpene glycosides are broken down by the enzyme β-primeverosidase, forming terpenes, the aroma compounds behind floral and fruity notes. There are 2 ways to carry out the withering process:
- Mechanically ventilate the leaves with a withering chamber. This method is commonly used to make black tea.
- Spread the tea on trays and place them in a well-ventilated environment. This method is used for our sencha.
If a withering chamber is used, it causes intense fermentation in the tea leaves, resulting in a strong fruity flavor and the edges of the tea turning yellow or orange. Because we aim to produce a green tea that offers both floral and sencha characteristics, we chose the tray method. We place the fresh tea leaves on trays in a very thin layer and let them wither in the forest for a day.
Not Making Oolong but Sencha with a Floral Flavor
Although we use the withering process, our aim was not to make oolong tea. There are many high-quality oolong teas in Taiwan and China at affordable prices, so we saw no reason to produce oolong tea in Japan. Instead, we wanted to use light fermentation techniques to enhance the flavor of sencha.
Our Exclusively Selected Garden
We source fresh tea from a specific tea garden that uses no pesticides and no nitrogen fertilizer—a practice known in Japan as natural agriculture. We have a long-term relationship with this tea producer, and every year they reserve the same garden for our use. Tea gardens in Tsukigase are small and scattered, so when the producer sells to other customers, they blend leaves from multiple gardens. Since our tea comes from a single garden, it has very distinctive characteristics.
Soil That Used to Be at the Bottom of Lake Biwa
6 million years ago, the entire area of Tsukigase and other Uji tea-growing regions was once the bottom of Lake Biwa. These places are very rich in iron and alkaline minerals. However, these minerals are found mainly in the upper parts of the mountains. Soil at lower elevations contains more sand, formed by river erosion, which is why we use only tea gardens located near the top of the mountain.
Tsukigase's tea garden. The hills behind form a straight line—this entire area was once the bottom of Lake Biwa, millions of years ago.
Difference Between Bred Cultivar and Seeded Tea
We chose Tsukigase tea from a tea tree called Zairai. In Japanese, Zairai means "native to Japan," though tea originally came from China, so the term is not entirely accurate. In Japan, Zairai refers to tea reproduced from seeds, as opposed to cultivated varieties such as Yabukita, which are propagated by cuttings. Tea grown from seed produces a single taproot that penetrates deep into the ground, while tea grown from cuttings produces multiple shallow, spreading roots. Due to the depth of the taproot, seeded tea trees can effectively absorb minerals, whereas cutting-propagated cultivars absorb fertilizer more efficiently from the shallow soil. Because we value a long-lasting aftertaste and depth of flavor, we strictly select seeded tea—Zairai.
The liquor of Tsukigase Withered Sencha is bright yellowish-green and transparent.
Floral Flavor That Bounces Back After Drinking
Tsukigase Withered Sencha offers refreshing floral notes like orchids. Its taste has a hint of Taiwan's Wen Shan Bao Zhong oolong, while still delivering the character of sencha at the same time. We particularly enjoy the way the floral fragrance rebounds on the palate after each sip.
In Japan, tea producers often remove stems because they consider their appearance unsightly. However, stems are very important to the taste, as they contain calcium—a mineral less concentrated in the leaves—which contributes significantly to the body of the tea. Many other teas, including oolong, black tea, white tea, and Pu-erh tea, retain their stems. We deliberately keep the tea stems and never remove them.
Ideal Brewing Method
Japanese tea is often brewed at lower temperatures (e.g., 70–80°C) to avoid extracting bitterness from caffeine. However, because this sencha is naturally low in bitterness, please use boiling water. It is also rich in polyphenols and lightly fermented due to the long withering process, so the taste and flavor are richer and stronger when brewed with boiling water. Warm the teapot with boiling water for 10 seconds, then brew the tea with boiling water for about 30 seconds. For a larger teapot or a stronger preference, brew longer or use more leaves. For the second brew, use just a few seconds.
