#0713.M2 Yabe-en Tea Shop: Spring Harvest Datecha Sencha from Monou, Ishinomaki

Sencha grown in the mountains above the town of Monou in what is now Ishinomaki City brews into a deep forest green with a strong astringency. With a 400 year history of tea farming, the town of Monou is the northernmost tea region, and the field managed by Sasaki-san is the northernmost tea field in Japan. Processed into sencha by Susumu Yabe of the Yabe-en Tea Shop as "Datecha" 伊達茶, named after the famous samurai lord Masamune Date. This tea might be considered a deep-steamed fukamushicha, but is not marketed as such by Yabe-san as his fukamushicha is a longer steaming. About Farmer Hiroshi Sasaki and Processor Susumu Yabe Miyagi Prefecture was once a major tea production region with a summer climate similar to Shizuoka tea production regions (though colder in the winter). The last surviving tea field belongs to Hiroshi Sasaki who studied tea agriculture in the major tea production region of Kagoshima in the southernmost part of Japan's main four islands. Tea Master Susumu Yabe who lives just south of Ishinomaki aids in the processing of the tea into fine sencha. Left: Tea farmer Hiroshi Sasaki. Right: Tea master Susumu Yabe. PRODUCT INFO Name: Monoucha Sencha, Ishinomaki Green Tea Ingredients: Green Tea Harvest: Spring Cultivated by: Hiroshi Sasaki, Kashima Tea Garden (鹿島茶園), Monou Town, Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture Processed by: Atsushi Yabe, Yabe Tea (矢部園茶舗), 2-3 Kaigandori, Shiogama City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan (Japanese site: yabe-en.com)