NEW
Apricot, lemony
Oxidation: ★☆☆ / Intensity: ★☆☆
Astringency (tannins): ☆☆☆

Sashima is a tea-producing region located in the southwest of Ibaraki Prefecture, around the towns of Koga, Sakai, Bandô, Yachiyo and Jôsô. Its tea history dates back to the Edo period, but it was mainly around the mid-nineteenth century that sencha production boomed. Most of the tea was for export. Today, it is a modest tea-growing area, but it nonetheless enjoys great renown among tea enthusiasts, and is now home to many young, very active, tea farmers.
While Mr. Yoshida primarily produces sencha, he has also been making a brilliant name for himself as a black tea producer.
In particular, he has resurrected Izumi, an older cultivar that was registered in 1960. Although it was selected from a seed from a Benihomare plant, the father of Japanese black tea cultivars, Izumi is registered as a cultivar for kama-iri cha. The plan was to use it for kama-iri chas to be exported to North Africa. However, that trade disappeared very quickly in the 1960s, and Izumi suffered the same fate.
Today, following Mr. Yoshida, a number of other producers are starting to grow this very unusual, highly aromatic cultivar to make black and semi-oxidized teas.

This spring black tea is very lightly oxidized and has exceptionally elegant fragrances. It offers an intense floral sensation and is sweet in a way that evokes the small orange flowers of a fragrant olive trees. There are also the very fresh yellow peach aromas—characteristic of this Izumi cultivar—and lemony nuances.
On the palate, the infusion is very smooth, but it does not lack intensity thanks to rich floral, fruity aromas. These aromas have wonderful presence and persist very long in the mouth.
Without question, this exceptional tea has a wealth of intense, complex aromas that put it among the best of black teas.

Type of tea : Black tea
Origin : Ôtsutsumi area, Koga　Municipality, Ibaraki　Prefecture
Cultivar : Izumi
Harvest : May 19th, 2025