SHINTARO

Description

The best dento hon gyokuro of Japan: Winner of the 1st Place at the 79th National Tea Tasting Competition, Gyokuro Category, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award

Hand-plucked by Tokunaga Shintaro san of Reiganji Tea Manufacturing in Kuroki town (Yame), this exceptional single-cultivar dento hon gyokuro is the result of years of hard work dedicated to the cultivation and production of Yame dento hon gyokuro.  

When you open the bag, take the time to admire and appreciate its beautiful deep green, nearly black, needle-shaped shiny leaves.

Prepared at 50C with 40ml for 2 minutes 30 seconds, the first brew is so good, it's almost shocking. Incredibly smooth and velvety, with extremely high levels of umami, a deep sweetness and refreshing taste, the precious light-gold liquor leaves a rich lingering round feeling in your mouth, with no astringency. 

The second brew rivals with the first one of some of the best dento hon gyokuro. Prepare it at 70C, with 60ml, and let it rest for 90 seconds. The liquor is just as delicious and mouth-watering as the first.

Enjoy the developing flavors and aromas of the next brews with a warmer temperature (80C), for only one minute. Less umami, yet with a clean, sweet and refreshing finish, with a hint of bitterness.

Tokunaga san highlights the incredible care that he poured into the selection of the leaves of his field.

Plucked from a field at 500m in altitude, deep in the misty mountains of Yame, each leaf was carefully chosen, and only 42 kg of raw leaves were harvested. After processing, this was reduced to 7-8 kg, which was then sorted by hand again, then hand-rolled, resulting in a final yield of 4 kg for submission to the 2025 edition of the most prestigious national tea competition of Japan.

In mountainous regions with large temperature differences, tea buds grow slowly, resulting in flavorful tea leaves. These ideal climatic conditions, combined with the blessing of red clay soil that stores nutrients, make Tokunaga san's tea truly delicious.

To support his amazing efforts and the continuation of his business, Koga Cha Gyo purchased of all Tokunaga san's award-winning gyokuro. Thanks to our close partnership with Koga san and to reflect our wish to share Yame traditional gyokuro culture with the world, Ikkyu has the great honor to be able to propose 200 bags of 5g each of this outstanding jewel, each of them being prepared at the time of order. 

5g will serve up to 2 people willing to share this precious liquor, and can be brewed several times in a row.

We prepared this liquid jewel in our SHIROHAI gyokuro kyusu, and served it in our SHIROHAI cups.

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