The tips of the new芽 (芽先) and the parts that were avoided during揉みこむ (揉み込む) are rolled into small round grains during the tea processing. This is called "芽茶" (芽茶) or "真" (じん, Jin). For this "玉真" (Gyokushin), we blended芽茶 from煎茶 (sencha) with芽茶 from かぶせ茶 (kabusecha). The flavor is concentrated, rich, and mellow.
Contents:- ●芽茶＜玉真＞ 100g bag
Delicious brewing method:Place 8g of tea leaves into a teapot, pour approximately 150cc of hot water at about 90°C, and let it sit for about 30 seconds to cool. Wait for 1 minute, then pour and serve.
About Ujitawara Town where the company is located:
We are very proud to produce green tea in Ujitawara Town because it is believed to be the birthplace of green tea. Kyoto has the oldest tea garden in Japan, which is considered the place where Japanese people first started cultivating green tea. Ujitawara City is located in the southern part of Kyoto and produces even more green tea. Situated deep in the mountains, Ujitawara is blessed with nature and ideal for green tea cultivation. Let us explore the history of why this town is regarded as the birthplace of green tea.
In the 18th century, around the time of the British Industrial Revolution, a tea farmer named Soen Nagatani produced Japan’s first bright-colored green tea. While today bright green tea is very common, back then, people mainly drank coarse, dusky-red tea made solely by roasting the leaves. Soen considered the possibility of producing tea "as bright as fresh tea leaves." He re-examined traditional green tea production methods and, after 15 years of experimentation, established a "green-tea-producing method." This method involved gently kneading the tea leaves by hand and extracting water from them with heat to produce a flavorful, bright-green tea. Soen shared his technique with local people, and Ujitawara became the birthplace of Japanese green tea.
Ujitawara is one of Japan’s leading tea-producing regions. The tea factory was established in 1926 in a scenic area where thick fog from the Uji River protects the tea leaves from frost and direct sunlight. We maintain strict quality control by purchasing only carefully selected tea leaves, having our tea master Noriaki Yasui check the flavor, and applying our special blending process. We produce green tea at our factory and also sell it via mail order.
We are very pleased to know that many people have been choosing and drinking our green tea for over 90 years. We believe our success is partly due to favorable environmental factors, but we also feel fortunate to have inherited the mastery of green tea from traditional tea farmers and masters of old. One such technique is called "Ooishita Saibai" or "Covering Cultivation," first invented around the 16th century. This cultivation method involves covering the tea garden with a reed blanket just before harvesting. By blocking sunlight, this method produces brighter, more flavorful green tea. As a group of tea specialists, we are committed to delivering high-quality green tea, continually improving through our time-honored and innovative methods.