Sencha

Ancient Sencha Handpicked

Sencha made from zairai tea grown in Ohbukudani. It is known for its rich aroma and a clean finish without harshness.

Clean

Aromatic

$ 35.00 Tax included

Net weight

30g

SHIPPING & DELIVERY

Delivery: 5–7 days / DHL or Japan Post

Customs duties: payable on arrival / follow your shipment with the tracking number

Returns: accepted within 7 days of arrival for unopened, unused items only

OUR TEA STORY

In Search of the Lost Uji Tea of Old

Uji tea once had a distinctive aroma that set it clearly apart from the tea of any other region. Known as hotoro-ka or shitaki-ka, it is said to have been especially pronounced in zairai tea.

Zairai is tea grown from seed. It was the mainstay of Japanese tea from ancient times, until cultivars such as Yabukita spread in the 1960s.

Unlike cultivars, which are clones propagated from cuttings, each zairai bush is an individual. Its roots run deep, and differences in soil and climate show directly in its aroma and flavor.

However, zairai bushes grow at different rates, which makes them unsuited to machine harvesting, and their leaves are uneven in color and size, which makes it hard to produce beautifully shaped tea. Cultivars gradually took over, and today zairai accounts for only about 1% of the tea grown in Japan.

Driven by a wish to bring back sencha that is true to the Uji tea that has been lost, we revived bushes more than 100 years old in Ohbukudani, abandoned for over half a century, and made a hand-picked sencha. That tea is Hyakunenju no Shizuku.

We can harvest only about 7 kg a year. We hope this revival of the "original sencha" loved by Nagatani Soen gives you a sense of the Uji tea that was lost.

Estimated age Estimated 100+ years

Harvest Hand-picked

Steaming Light steaming

Fertilizer Bokashi, oil cake

Pesticides None used

HOW TO BREW

Zairai tea pairs an umami that finishes clean with a distinctive mellowness and a clearly defined structure. Its aroma and flavor hold through successive infusions, so it can be enjoyed for three infusions or more.
If you like, raise the water for the first infusion to 90°C and shorten the steep to about 30 seconds to bring the aroma of the land further forward.

InfusionTEA: 3g	TEMPERATURE	WATER	TEA	TIME	TASTING NOTES
1st infusion	70°C	100ml	3g	60 sec	Sweetness and umami come forward
2nd infusion	80°C	100ml	—	0 sec	Hotoro-ka is at its most expressive
3rd infusion	90°C	100ml	—	0 sec	Toasty notes linger with gentle astringency

Water amounts are per infusion. "—" means the same leaves are used as in the first infusion. Temperatures and times are guidelines, so adjust them to your taste.

To the last drop

Water left in the pot clouds the next infusion. Pour out to the very last drop; the richest flavor is in those final drops.

About water

In hard-water regions such as Europe and North America, the aroma can be more difficult to draw out. Lower the water temperature for each infusion by 5°C and extend the steeping time by 30 seconds. Soft water with a hardness below 50mg/L is ideal.