Kirokuen: Kabusecha

Kiroku Tea Garden: Kabusecha Aracha 

50g

Kabuseru かぶせる means to cover so かぶせ茶 literally means covered (or shaded) tea. The shading process allows the umami to develop within the tea leaves. The women of the Hori family shade their field of Gokou cultivar tea plants for about 3 weeks prior to harvest in May to create an umami-rich green tea.

Gokou cultivar is an unregistered cultivar that was specifically made to suit the soil and climate of Kyoto Prefecture, where the Kiroku Tea Garden is based. This cultivar is very well-suited for shading and therefore is sure to make a high-quality kabusecha.

This kabusecha is an Aracha which means that the tea has not been refined past the drying process. The result is a batch of tea flecked with both darker and lighter leaves as well as some stems. 

• Ingredients: Green tea 
• Cultivar: Gokou (primary cultivar used)
• Harvest: May 23
• Notes: Shaded for about 3 weeks, no pesticides/synthetic fertilisers used.
• Region: Wazuka Village, Kyoto Prefecture

Steeping Notes: 5g | 70°C | 1min | 200ml | Re-steep leaves

About the farm:  "Our 4th generation Kirokuen Tea Farm is in the heart of Wazuka, an area whose mountain tea fields and undulating terraced slopes thick with fog make perfect tea-growing conditions. Founded nearly 100 years ago, before cars and farming machinery were available, our mountain fields were cleared by hand by my Great-Grandfather, Kirokuen’s Founder.

Today, we’re in the unusual position of being entirely owned by women. After the death of my father, my mother, myself and my sister took over the running of the farm to continue our family’s legacy, one that began in these fields all those years ago."