Tasting profile
Primary tasting notes
- Poppy SeedsRound, full-bodied and somewhat creamy.
- MaltyA brisk morning tea to get the blood moving!
- Wild BerriesKind of like stewed fruits, a sort of cooked, concentrated fruitiness.
Learn more
About Yame Kocha
Yame is the tea-growing epicenter of Fukuoka. This region is most famous for gyokuro production, but has a fascinating history when it comes to tea. Being close to the main port of trade with China, for centuries Fukuoka was the only place where loose leaf tea was accessible in Japan. Once trade opened up after the Meiji Restoration, it then became a center of trade for Western merchants as well, who had a particular penchant for black tea.
The Meiji Restoration and Black Tea
A huge theme of the Meiji Restoration was the opening up of Japan to Western trade and influence. Emperor Meiji wanted to "modernize" Japan in such a way that it could compete on the same global stage as the big European powers.
One particularly niche way in which this goal was pursued was in the development of Japanese black tea. During this period, researchers were sent to India to learn British tea manufacturing methods. They brought Indian (Assamica) tea seeds back with them as well as this new knowledge to develop a style of black tea that is completely unique.
The Taste of Japanese Black Tea
There's one small problem: tea varieties adapted to sub-tropical climates don't do so well in Japan. Over time, the Assamica seeds brought back hybridized with native Sinensis varieties to create hardier tea plants that had qualities of both.
As a result, Japanese black tea tastes surprisingly a lot more like Indian black tea than Chinese black tea! Nonetheless, it retains a mellowness and subtlety to it that makes it much harder to over-brew than your average Assam or Darjeeling. It is as once malty and bold, but gentle enough to need no sweetener or milk, revealing subtle notes of berries and poppyseed.
