SHINCHA ORIGINARU N-35 SAITO 50g

• Steaming: Asamushi (light steaming)
• Cultivar: N-35 (Mr Saito’s own cultivar)
• Region: Honyama, Shizuoka

An exclusive shincha made only from N-35, one of the original cultivars that Mr Saito has selected and propagated on his own farm – a tea you will not find anywhere else. As with all of his teas, the distinctive terroir of his plantation comes through clearly in the cup.

Mr Katsuya Saito’s tea gardens lie in Honyama (本山), the mountainous upper reaches of the Abe and Warashina rivers north of Shizuoka City and one of Japan’s most celebrated tea districts. Mist rising from the river valleys shades the bushes naturally, nights are cool and the harvest comes up to a month later than in the lowlands. The resulting yama no cha (“mountain tea”) is known for its fresh aroma, delicate taste and pleasant minerality. Honyama tea is said to have been a favorite of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Mr Saito switched to organic farming more than 40 years ago, and his farm has held JAS organic certification since 2001. He uses no pesticides or chemical fertilizers, enriches the soil with organic mineral fertilizers he makes himself and keeps to the traditional light asamushi steaming typical of the mountains, which gives a clear golden-green liquor. I first came across his tea by lucky chance – through his wife, at a farmers’ market in Shizuoka City.