Tasting profile
Primary tasting notes
- Sweet CreamWell-rounded, smooth and mellow
- Kombu SeaweedA brothy sort of savoriness.
- OrchidThe finish is somewhat reminiscent of Chinese oolongs!
Origin and farming
- Terroir
- Jingshan Town, Hangzhou, China
- Farming method
- Organic
About Jingshan Yabukita
In the midst of a matcha shortage, we set out to secure our supply of high-quality tencha. This led to us looking into Chinese-grown tencha. Little did we expect to find something comparable in quality to Japanese-grown tencha, and much less something that excites us as much as some of our more rare matcha varieties - but here we are.
Yabukita is the most famous Japanese cultivar, and this matcha hits all the right notes - creamy, brothy, mellow, and slightly fruity on the finish. Read below about the origin of this tencha to learn why it's so dang cool!
All About Jingshan
The tencha for this matcha has been grown organically in an ecological preserve in Zhejiang Province, China. The preserve centers around a mountain and temple called Jingshan. This isn't just any temple, however. This is the temple the first Japanese Zen monks visited when they traveled to China to study Buddhism. It is where they would have first encountered tea, and as such is seen as the birthplace of the Japanese tea ceremony.
When the monks returned to Japan, they brought Chinese tea with them. Now, there is something poetic in the fact that Japanese-style tea is being grown here.
Lastly, China is way more mountainous than Japan, and this region is no exception. This tea is grown at an elevation of 700 meters, making it the highest-elevation matcha we offer by a wide (tall?) margin.
Tea Farming in Hangzhou
In the meantime, this part of China has been growing tea for centuries - and famous tea at that! It is most well-known for Dragon Well Green, which is often considered the most famous green tea in China! The region is also known for being extremely well-forested, with several nature reserves and a heavy emphasis on environmental preservation. Though China often gets a bad rap in Western perception, this is in fact of the cleanest growing regions for tea there is!
Milled-To-Order: The perfect intersection of craft, terroir, and freshness.
Fresh milling is the final step in bringing our Jingshan Matcha to life. Every single tin on our site is milled-to-order. Given that we value complexity so highly, we consider this necessary - milling shortly before consumption allows the more volatile aromatic compounds of matcha to still reach your bowl, allowing the artistry behind each tea to truly shine!
