Shincha benitachiwase 2026

This year's shincha is an unusual one. Harvested in April, this niche tea cultivar is called benitachiwase (ベニタチワセ), and it's commonly processed into black tea, but this is a shincha - a first flush green tea, you could say - so I have no idea what to expect. Let's dive in. The tea came in an unlabeled, vacuum-sealed package, so sadly I don't know which specific tea farm produced it. I was only able to narrow it down to the Shibushi area in Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu. Right out of the bag, the scent is sweet and grassy, though not very strong. The leaves remind me of any other good quality sencha: irregular, thick needles with a dark green colour. The first two steeps were very similar. The aroma was lightly grassy and citrusy, with stronger vegetable notes. As for the taste, the first thing that stands out is the bitterness. It's pleasant, tangy, and lingers for a while. The umami is there, but it's quite subtle - this is not a gyokuro style broth. Overall, it's not very sweet, but…