We appreciate your patronage of this year's Hashiri Shincha and we all look forward to its return again next year.
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Every year Den's parent company, Shirakata-Denshiro Shoten, strikes a special contract with the Moriuchi tea farm to purchase their very young shincha leaves and use it as the only tea in our Hashiri Shincha. The Moriuchi tea farm is owned and operated by Mr. Yoshio Moriuchi who has a brilliant history in tea farming. He has won the Gold and Silver medals in the past 5 years at the World Green Tea Contest, the O-Cha Frontier Contest, and the Shizuoka Tea Auction. His passion for tea and his spirit of ingenuity are still growing. He uses an original natural fertilizer that he blends himself. He is very careful at timing the harvest to bring out the best flavor of the tea leaf. His first flush tea is very delicate and the top buds and tea leaves are carefully picked by hand.
 After the leaves are picked, Mr. Moriuchi makes Aracha (rough tea) with the young leaves. The Aracha is brought to the Shirakata-Denshiro Shoten’s factory, where it is processed as little as possible. To maintain its field freshness especially for this Hashiri Shincha, there is no blending and only a light roasting. Consequently it is somewhat delicate and will be available for a very limited time. |
| 2013 Den's Tasting Comments: |
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I was a little concerned when I saw that the processed Hashiri Shincha tea leaves were very sharp, dark needles. As I reported in April, the Shincha season arrived early this year and some of the leaves were mature by the end of April. I was afraid that Hashiri Shincha had lost its character of young freshness.
The very first brewing of Shincha is always done in a cup with boiling water. This allows us to look at the brilliant green leaves opening slowly and allows us to experience the aroma as it rises from the cup. When I poured hot water into the tasting cup and took the first sip, I was honestly surprised. I thought the aroma and flavor of this tea was weaker than last year's. But while thinking about last year's tea, the taste of the 2013 Shincha began to grow in my mouth. This year's Hashiri is unique in that the aftertaste gives your palate more impact than the first sip. Then, I brewed another cup with 160F water. The same character but a stronger aftertaste remained in my mouth. I did not want to eat anything for a while to enjoy the flavor left in my mouth. What an aftertaste! Hope you "feel" and enjoy this exceptional experience! |
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