Tamaryokucha(玉緑茶)100g

Tamaryokucha is a rare Japanese tea.
Many Japanese people do not know about this tea, and it is not easy to find it throughout Japan.
Here in Nagasaki, however, this is the “tea”.
When a person mentions “tea” in Western countries, it usually means  “Black tea’. When a person here in Nagasaki mentions “tea”, it is Tamaryokucha.

Around 400 years ago, Chinese monk “Ingen” brought over to Japan a new way to process tea. Originally this green tea was pan-fired during processing to stop oxidation and keep the fresh, lively green character of the tea. This pan-fired style of tea processing is hardly used for tamaryokucha anymore. Farmers switched pan-firing for steaming in the processing to keep an even more fresh taste and colour.

Tamaryokucha means ‘curly/round green tea’, and you can see that the leaves are different from the needle-shape that is characteristic for Sencha. Tamaryokucha is at the origin of Sencha (the most common tea in Japan), before processing technique developed to create the needle shape.

Tamaryokucha is a green tea that has a vivid fresh green colour and refreshing notes. The colour of the tea liquid is a more vivid green due to the deep steaming. The taste is more umami (savoury) and has fresh grassy notes. An excellent reminder of springtime.

This Tamaryokucha is the results of long time efforts of many local tea producers in Nagasaki.

Please enjoy by all your senses: it is a delight for your eyes, nose and mouth.