A lightly oxidised and delicately withered green tea that has a distinct floral fragrance and a semi-sweet taste reminiscent of green peas and fresh cut grass.
The producer describes the aroma of Yumewakaba as “tomboyish” perhaps interpreted as “high spirits”. The Nogi-en tea farm is cultivated without use of pesticides.
Mr Shimizu’s Father started to grow and sell withered tea from 1960s. They wanted to craft a tea with rich aroma, a unique high-quality tea in the late-harvest area such as Sayama, Saitama prefecture to be competitive and a point of difference to their existing teas.
His Father was so impressed and inspired by the overwhelming aroma of Oriental Beauty in Taiwan. He became obsessed with Taiwanese tea after learning of Oriental Beauty processing that resulted in the purchase of the machine from Taiwan for his own farm. They have been experimenting ever since. They have named the style of tea “withering tea”. Recognising similarities in production methods of oolong tea yet differences compared to Taiwanese oolong tea.
What we love about these producers can be summed up in the following quote; “…there is no need to be as “same“ as Taiwanese tea. We explore our own originality to improve the depth of Yumewakaba withering tea in its own right”.
Origin: Saitama prefecture, Japan
Flavour profile: Semi-sweet | Floral | Pea
Processing highlights: This year the tea maker achieved the pure and exquisite taste and aroma through their machine picked tea. The moisture content of the new shoots from this picking method worked better for the processing of evaporation of withering.
Harvest: Spring 2023
Cultivar: Yumewakaba
Tea Master: Sourced by Misato Furumiya from Mr. Shmizu
The Saitama area is a cold region that has spurred cultivar improvement for cold-resistant varieties driven by national demand. A number of cultivars have been identified for their rich aroma, especially “Fukumidori “ and “Yumewakaba” that are considered outstanding. Yumewakaba has both a strong withering aroma and thick taste.
Elevation: 58m
An invigorating withered green tea that is clean and fresh. The liquor is delicate with a good depth with a harmonious balance of semi-sweet floral notes, pea and fresh cut grass flavours.
Leaf appearance: Elongated slightly twisted blue-green leaves
Aroma: Highly aromatic notes of fresh cut grass and a floral bouquet
Liquor colour: light amber
