2024 vintage
Grapefruit, floral, custard cream
Umami★☆☆☆ / Astringency★★☆☆
Body★★★☆ / Firing★☆☆☆

Registered in the early 1970s, Sayama kaori is one of the few cultivars to have become very widespread throughout all of Japan.
Sayama kaori is now unfairly devalued because of its astringency, despite being a very interesting quality in sencha and Sayama kaori having a notable floral fragrance. Curiously, vey fragrant Sayama-kaoris are most often found in mountainous areas, such as Shizuoka; in contrast, the Sayama kaoris from Saitama, its birthplace, often lack fragrance. This is why we made a special order to a producer from Sayama asking them to use Sayama kaori to produce a small set of senchas, which combine the typical characteristics of the teas from this region and those of the Sayama kaori cultivar.
We asked that this year’s tea be a beautiful standard-steamed futsumushi.
This Sayama-kaori has a surprising rich fragrance, evoking lime and egg yolk. The fragrance is fresh, vegetal but also delicious.
In the mouth, the infusion is astringent but not tannic, which provides an impression with great elegance. There is a touch of bitterness that goes hand in hand with this tea’s grapefruit, lime aromas. There are also subtle floral notes.
The aftertaste is intense and sweet.
Subsequent infusions continue in the same very rich aromatic range; they are always slightly astringent yet fluid and refreshing.
Here is a wonderful Sayama sencha made using Sayama-kaori, which was exceptionally refined, revealing an as yet unseen side to this cultivar.

Type of tea : Futsûmushi sencha
Origin : Horigane, Sayama City, Saitama Prefecture
Cultivar : Sayama-kaori
Harvest : May 4th, 2024