Review: Kagoshima Organic Sencha

As a Japanese person, Japanese green tea is too familiar, so I don’t often intentionally savor the flavor. But I obtained some delicious sencha, so with a feeling of freshness, I decided to try it today.

It’s an organic sencha produced in Kirishima City, Kagoshima prefecture, using no pesticides or chemical fertilizers. As soon as I open the package, there was a bright green aroma.

While the boiled water cools slightly, I scoop 2 teaspoons of leaves into my kyuusu, pour in the water (which has cooled to about 176°F), and wait for 30 seconds. Then I carefully pour out every last drop of the tea, little by little.

The liquor is a beautiful yellow-green. When I bring the teacup to my lips, a refreshing aroma soothes my mind. Taking a sip, at first there is sweetness and umami. Then, a moderate bitterness slowly spreads across my tongue. After swallowing, a comfortable astringency unfurls. The balance of everything is very good, with a harmonious taste. The crisp astringency inside the mellowness feels quintessentially like sencha.

This characteristic astringency in sencha comes from catechins (tannins). Because sencha is grown in direct sunlight, it's rich in catechins. Catechins’ antibacterial effects may be useful in preventing influenza and colds. In fact, in Shizuoka prefecture, which is famous for tea, some elementary schools even have students gargle with green tea. Additionally, green tea is not fermented, so it has abundant vitamin C. The catechins’ antioxidant properties help prevent the oxidation of vitamin C, so it can be absorbed whole.

Also, drinking green tea with sushi is common in Japan. It seems that green tea’s antimicrobial effect helps to defend against food poisoning from the raw fish.

Once again, I was struck by the feeling that green tea is so well-suited to Japan’s terroir, and that it's an indispensable part of our daily lives here.

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