The Shincha harvest has long been regarded as a moment of celebration in Japan. Each year, people look forward to this special springtime harvest. Today, people from around the world can enjoy Shincha direct from our tea farm. Traditionally, Matcha is aged for several months after harvest to gain a more complex, enriched flavor, similar to the process used for Gyokuro. For tea ceremony, it is traditional to open a special jar of matcha that has been aged for several months at a ceremony called Kutikiri no Gi in autumn.
However, recently, Shincha Matcha is enjoyed mainly among teachers or masters of tea ceremony. They enjoy the fresh flavor of Shincha Matcha rather than the deep smooth and mellow flavor of usual Matcha. The Shincha Matcha color is a little brighter green than usual Matcha. And they feel delight of the spring season, inspired by the fresh flavor of Shincha Matcha.
Shincha Matcha is made from tea leaves freshly harvested around May 20 to 25, direct from the tea farm. It is not aged over time, like traditional Matcha. To bring out the fresh flavor, this is specially finished. Usually fresh tea leaves just after harvest are steamed and then dried. They become "Aracha" Matcha. The drying process affects the character of the Matcha flavor. For our special Shincha Matcha, we have dried our tea leaves a little more strongly to characterize the fresh flavor and bring out the bright green color.
The tea farm where the tea leaves are grown is located in mountain ravines, a location suitable for the highest grade Sencha. The misty climate, sloping hills, warm days and cool nights create the refreshing aroma of Shincha.
Each leaf for this item is specially selected and carefully picked by our farmers' skilled hands. Today most tea leaves are trimmed by machine and traditional hand-picked Matcha is rarely grown and is therefore very precious. The flavor and aroma of hand-picked tea is much more mellow and smooth than tea trimmed by machine.
The tea leaves for our Shincha Matcha are of the highest grade, shaded from sunlight by the "Tana" structure and carefully picked by hand. Therefore, the taste is deeply smooth and mellow, even though our Shincha Matcha is not aged over time.
With our Shincha Matcha, you can enjoy both the fresh aroma of Shincha and the mellow smooth taste of Matcha in one bowl of tea. Enjoy the superb harmony of fresh aroma and smooth, mellow taste of this special tea, available only this spring harvest season.
