If you love Japanese tea, you may be familiar with Shincha. In Japan, we have the tradition of celebrating Shincha, the first tea harvest of the year. Only once a year can you enjoy Shincha's refreshing aroma and smooth, mellow flavor immediately after the harvest. (For more information concerning Shincha, please click the following link: "What is Shincha?", "Shincha News Flash!")

In response to many customer requests, we added a new style of Shincha with an especially mild flavor, known as Shincha AOTE. In contrast, traditional Shincha has a strong astringent refreshing aroma, bitter taste, and yellow-green color. Our Shincha Traditional has these features, and it has been said for a long time that these are the desirable features of the most excellent Shincha.

However, some prefer Shincha with a mild character. With Shincha AOTE, the astringent refreshing aroma and bitter taste is moderated, the tea color is greener, and the taste is mellower. To bring the character, we blend a few breeds of early-ripening tea leaves having an especially green color. In many cases, such breeds are naturally mellow and less astringent. Even in the Uji region of Kyoto, known for its somewhat severe climate, such breeds are planted in a relatively hospitable area. The mild geographic conditions may help to create the mild flavor.

We blended Saemidori and Ohiwase with Yabukita breed for this Shincha AOTE. AOTE means more green and mild in Japanese.

Enjoy the superb and mild harmony of refreshing aroma, bitter taste, and mellow flavor of this special tea. It is a modern style of Shincha – available only at harvest season, just once a year.