Cultivar and technical information
Along with Hon.yama and Kawane, Tenryû is one of the three major mountain tea growing areas in Shizuoka. In Tenryû, a wide range of ancient cultivars with strong personalities are grown, though of course on small farms. The young producer, Suzuki Shôgô, is developing the marvelous potential of the diversity tea tree varieties.
Kurasawa (Shizu-7111) is one of the #7000 series cultivars that were developed from Yabukita seeds at the Shizuoka research centre after World War II. Other familiar members of the series are Shizu-7132 and Shizu-7166, in other words, Yamakai, in short, cultivars with very special aromas. Kurasawa is, along with Kanaya-midori, one of the parents of the famous Kôshun.

The nose
This tea from Tenryû delivers a round, sweet potato fragrance with nuances of black grapes and vanilla.

The mouth
On the palate, the infusion has only very little umami. In contrast, we find a dense, sweet, lightly astringent sensation. We then find delicious steamed chestnut-sweet potato aromas that evokes the sensation of grape skins.
The sweet sensation that coats the mouth is very intense and long. In subsequent infusions, the notes are more leguminous, but they retain a certain sweetness overall. The astringency becomes stronger, but also remains very refined.

Summary
This powerful, complex Kurasawa sencha brings a great fullness, as much in the mouth as the nose. It is hard to clearly put the aromas into words, but Kurasawa is unquestionably different from a Yabukita. Despite their differences, the two cultivars have a similar robustness. While it is not a very well-known cultivar, Kurasawa nonetheless has its fans among the experts; and with this tea, it is easy to understand why.

Technical description
Type of tea : Futsumushi (normal-steamed) sencha
Origin : Ôshiroki, Tenryû Borough, Hamamatsu Town, Shizuoka Prefecture
Cultivar : Kurasawa
Harvest : May 17th, 2026