The cup has the richness of butter, but it’s light and clean like spring water. A grassiness is pervasive all the way through, as it should be, but just enough to satisfy and never bitter. Classy Japanese sencha.

A 2024 first flush spring tea from our friends at the Otsuka Green Tea Co. It’s a lightly-steamed “asamushi” sencha from the Asanoka cultivar growing in the Miyazaki prefecture of Japan. The plants were shaded to limit sun exposure ten days prior to harvest. These shaded teas are called “kabusecha” and bring desirable changes to the leaf before picking. The Asanoka cultivar is hybrid of the popular Japanese Yabukita cultivar and Chinese Hiramizu cultivar. It accounts for less than 1% of the total production in Japan.

Ingredients: green tea

Steeping Instructions

4 grams | 10-12 oz water | 175°F | Steep 2 min. 

Kyusu Teapot Instructions

1st Steep - 10 grams | 8 oz water | 175°F | Steep 40 seconds

2nd Steep - 10 grams | 8 oz water | 175°F | Steep 10 seconds

Number of Cups

2 oz makes 19 cups, 4 oz makes 38 cups