While the Mizuba collection features a variety of sencha, this offering is a shaded sencha that is its own style and category: kabusecha.
The secret to Kabusecha Okumidori’s (かぶせ茶 おくみどり) incredible flavor is in the name itself. Kabusecha is a style of sencha where tea leaves are shaded prior to harvest — a process that results in deeply verdant leaves and higher levels of sweet-tasting L-theanine. You can think of this particular style as tasting halfway between sencha and gyokuro.
Mizuba’s offering in particular is shaded for about 15 days in Minami Yamashiro, Kyoto Prefecture. Okumidori is the name of the cultivar (or “cultivated variety”). The Okumidori cultivar flushes its new leaves a little later in the Spring season and is prized for its fragrant aromatics. The end result is a well-balanced cup with vibrant umami tones — a tea that transports the drinker directly to the fields of Japan!
What is Sencha?
Sencha is the most ubiquitous tea found in Japan, but for good reason — it exemplifies the one-of-a-kind umami flavor that epitomizes the heart of Japanese taste. Sencha illustrates the harmonious balance of sweetness, astringency, umami, and bitterness. Even its translation hints at its ubiquity: "sen" means "to infuse" while "cha" means "tea," so sencha in totality translates to "brewing tea." Invented in the 18th century in Uji, Japan by Soen Nagatani, the tea leaves are dried, steamed, and rolled into their characteristic needle shape. A fairly versatile tea, sencha can be brewed & enjoyed in a myriad of ways depending on personal preference.
Make Iced Tea: Our sencha is great for both slow ice-steeping and cold brewing.