nishi-san's shincha single cultivar saemidori

type: green

origin: japan

region: kagoshima kirishima

caffeine: medium

price level: $$$$

In the 2019 Shincha season, Rishi friends Ryo San and Yuko San traveled to the Nishi family gardens in southern Japan to participate in the harvest while our founder and tea buyer Joshua was covering the harvest in Taiwan. The team tasted all of Nishi San's fresh Shincha teas and identified two cultivars as prime micro-lots: Asatsuyu and Saemidori. This year's Saemidori is a special small batch of hand-picked Shincha to celebrate the old school artisan technique of harvesting by hand. It has a bright green infusion with a slightly salty umami balanced with a pleasant, sweet grassiness. Asatsuyu, by contrast, is invigorating with deep kombu umami balanced with refreshing green hints of snap pea.