Mizuba is honored to be one of the few tea companies to whom legendary matcha farmer and producer, Tsuji-san, sells his premier, hand-harvested matcha. With immense gratitude and care, we present you the opportunity to taste his single-estate, unblended, single-cultivar Gokou Matcha.
About the Gokou Cultivar:
Gokou is a bit of a mysterious cultivar and is one of the varieties with an unknown developer. The kanji translates to "halo," or more specifically, "the halo around the head of a saint." Gokou is known alongside the Uji Hikari cultivar as being one of the best to produce matcha in the Uji region. The cultivar is particularly suited for the climate and because it results in delicious aromatics and noble flavor.
In fact, both Uji Hikari and Gokou feature the kanji which means "light" 光. Uji Hikari translates to "the light of Uji," while the 光 of Gokou refers back to the halo allusion. Gokou was specifically developed to make gyokuro and tencha, and therefore it's extremely unusual to find the cultivar made in another style of tea (eg, sencha). However, it's not an officially registered cultivar but is believed to have been developed in the 1950's from tea seeds in Uji.
Gokou is a revered cultivar in Japanese tea, making this matcha a very special treat and the chance to try a truly singular flavor. We find Gokou has a beautifully rounded, savory depth to its taste. Don't wait to experience this matcha made by the legendary producer Tsuji-san!
Having won countless awards in Japan for his teas, 5th-generation master farmer Tsuji san is responsible for one of the greatest matcha experiences you can savor. His tea plants are unpruned, only cultivated with organic fertilizers, and enjoy the most traditional form of shade-growing (the Honzu technique ) in the region's nutritious red clay soil. When the first flush arrives in shincha season (the first crop of the year), the tencha tea leaves are gently harvested by hand and stone-milled to perfection. In fact, Tsuji-san's matcha has the highest concentrations of L-theanine and amino acids ever recorded of any matcha in the world.
後光
How to brew:
Warm your chawan tea bowl with hot water. Place 1.5-2.5g of Gokou matcha into your chawan. Add 1 ounce of 160ºF-175ºF water to the tea and make koicha (a thick paste). Add about another 1.5-2 ounces to your koicha, and whisk with your chasen until the tea is fully aerated to make usucha. Enjoy!
Tasting notes:
Aroma: Our producer, Tsuji-san, notes that Gokou has a very distinctive aroma. He finds Gokou's nose is smokey. Light notes of milk chocolate; sweet wholegrain or buckwheat. Juicy, perhaps a note of fig and cocoa.
Flavor profile: "Whoah." "Wow." But if you had to pin it...
Synchronistic notes of a rich yet bright mouthfeel and a creamy, perfectly-balanced body that hits all sides of your tongue. Notes of roasted dark chocolate, sweet cream, freshly-churned butter, and a refreshing, oceanic minerality. Deeply satisfying umami. If we're being completely honest, pinning down certain flavors was difficult to write because this matcha is just amazing.
Size: 30g Tin (15 servings)
Suitable for koicha preparation