KAZUYA
COMPETITION ORGANIC SENCHA
Description
With its light green and golden color, the competition-grade organic sencha of Tsuru san comes from the first haverst of the year and also blends asatsuyu and yabukita together. Full-bodied, fragrant and packed with umami, it balances sweetness and bitterness in a perfect manner, and leaves a wonderful clear honey taste on your palate.
Tsuru san and his son look over their tea trees like dotting parents take care of their children. This patience and dedication is expressed in the way their teas reflect the beautiful nature in which they grow, where bees, wild flowers and a rich, nutrient-packed soil contribute to confer to the tea leaves a unique and distinctive touch.
Please take the time to read our visit to Tsuru san this summer and his complete profile to get even more information.
Origin
100% Japanese tea from Saga
Quality and Type
Organic Competition Sencha
Harvest
First harvest 2021
Organic
Yes, Special Farming Products Certification from SAGA prefecture.
Cultivars
Asatsuyu, Yabukita
Altitude
300m
Tasting Notes
sweetness
A sweet-tasting tea is a very light tea that leaves a sensation of natural sweetness in the mouth.
UMAMI
Although there is no official translation of the word “umami”, some call it “savory taste”: it leaves a mild and lasting pleasant brothy after taste and is recognized as one of the five basic tastes (together with sweetness, sourness, bitterness, and saltiness). It also induces salivation and a furriness sensation on the tongue, stimulating the throat, the roof and the back of the mouth.
BITTERNESS
The natural bitterness of green tea comes from the way it is made. Unlike black and oolong teas, green teas are made from the unfermented leaves of the tea plant, which keeps the antioxidants intact, but also gives them the bitter taste. This bitterness can be regulated with the water temperature : the higher the more bitter and vice-versa.
CAFFEINE
Caffeine is a naturally-occurring stimulant, found in several plants. Caffeine is water soluble, and is extracted into the brewed cup when preparing tea. In most cases, tea has much less caffeine than coffee.
CATECHINS
Catechins are a type of polyphenol (EGCG) and are the main astringency component in green tea, long known as tannins. In order to release more catechins you will need higher brewing temperature at around 80 but this will also increase the astringency and bitterness of your tea because of the caffeine. Dont use such temperatures for Gyokuro.
THEANINE
L-theanine (here referred to as theanine) is an amino acid that has a relaxing, but not sedating, effect. It is renowned for its ability to put you in the ideal state of calm attentiveness. It can sharpen focus, while reducing stress and enhancing overall well-being. Theanine can interact with caffeine, allowing a smaller dose of caffeine to have a stronger effect in terms of boosting concentration and alertness.
FRAGRANCE
The fragrance of a cup of green tea can vary from a highly roasted aroma to a fresh one.
Preparation
Tea for 2
6g to 8g (0.21 – 0.25oz)
Water
180ml /6.09oz
Temperature
60°C to 70°C (140 – 158F)
Brewing
2min on first brew, 1min on second brew
The Tsuru Cha En plantation was founded in 1959 by the father of the current business owner, Tsuru Kazuyuki san. Since Tsuru san took over the operations in 2007, the tea production has switched to a 100% chemical and pesticide-free process.
In 2017, they received the Special Farming Products Certification from Saga prefecture. Today, Tsuru san is one of only four green tea producers in Kyushu, along with Irie san in Yame, who grows tea in a completely pesticide-free manner, bringing him ‘above’ organic standards.
Conservation & Packing
Unopened
1 Year
Opened
6 weeks
Resealable vacuum bag, or aluminium bag with neutral gaz for best preservation.
Reviews
Reviews
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"Tea is nought but this: first you heat the water,
then you make the tea.
Then you drink it properly.
That is all you need to know."
Sen no Rikyu
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Andysworld2020 (verified owner) –
So far this is the best Sencha I have ever had.
The taste is sweet and long lasting but in no way overpowering, in fact I thought the taste was going to hit me like an express train, but it did not.
Instead it lightly opened the door, entered the room and began to gradually seduce me.
A perfect Sencha.
Curtis Dodson (verified owner) –
I have ordered this several times and it NEVER disappoints. This is my favourite sencha, and my go to after a long day. Although I rotate through tea, this is always stocked. I use 6g of tea at 200mL at 60C and it comes out just perfect.
Jared Ellerbrock (verified owner) –
Although I enjoyed this competition grade sencha, I prefer the non-organic one Ikkyu offers.
CHERRY (verified owner) –
Japanese organic tea tends to have milder taste than the non-organic tea due to the limited use of fertilizers. This competition grade sencha is the first harvest of the year, it did meet my expectation. I really appreciate the dedication and so much hard work from the organic farmers.
Robert Kim (verified owner) –
I don’t normally order organic teas because they cost notably more for the taste than non-organic ones. So I was a bit skeptical to buy this “competition” grade tea. Well, the tea worked out great. It is refreshing (not grassy as often happens with organic tea), relaxing, and smooth. I liked the first brew the best but the third brew was a bit too light for me.
senchagod (verified owner) –
i’m blown away by this sencha. it truly is a perfect balance of sweet and bitter.
the smell of the leaves after brewing is beautiful. everything from the color to taste is so nice.
the flavor is still present after the third brew but after it lightens up too much for my taste.
Japanese Green Tea Drinker (verified owner) –
A beautiful sweet, but not overpowering Sencha…perfect balance between sweet and bitter. A very, very good Sencha.