Tea Review: Horai Kincha Single Cultivar Sayama Golden Sencha (Yunomi/Yoshino Tea Garden)

Horai Kincha Single Cultivar Sayama Golden Sencha

Yoshino Tea Garden/Yunomi
Type: Green
Origin: Japan, Saitama Prefecture, Hidaka City (Sayama)
Product Description:

The golden field you see in the photos is a proprietary cultivar named Horai Kincha (蓬莱錦茶); Horai refers to an island in Chinese and Japanese mythology while "Kin" refers to a type of weaving called nishiki (famous in Kyoto) in which golden threads are interwoven with other colors.

The Horai Kincha is an extremely rare single-cultivar tea from the Yoshino Tea Garden. The tea fields of this cultivar will have a golden luminous shine for a temporary period of time once a year in May (this is when the new leaves are harvested). A special only one cultivar that is found at the Yoshino Tea Garden. This golden sencha is known to have a naturally abundant level of amino acids giving it a rather savory fruity umami flavor (almost like gyokuro) despite no shading. But be warned, this is a tea for connoisseurs!

Temperature: 160° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 1-2 minutes

The dry leaves have a deep aroma of macadamia nuts.

The liquor is bright green and cloudy with a nutty and sweet green aroma.  The taste is savory, nutty, and mouthwatering green with a long green and sweet almost fruity finish.  

The best flavor is in the first umami-filled infusion with at least one lighter yet enjoyable second infusion to look forward to.  The finish was especially noteworthy for being so flavorful.

This tea was purchased by me.