To make gyokuro, tea bushes are shaded directly for about 3 weeks cutting out the sunlight increasing umami flavor and decreasing bitterness. The leaves are then harvested by machine and processed using sencha processing methods--steaming, rolling, and drying. Finally, during the finishing process, stems of the leaves are separated. This makes a karigane, or high grade stem tea, called "shira-ore" in the Kyushu region. The stems tend to have less flavor overall, but also less bitterness and more sweetness. To steep this tea, prepare your hot water (or cool off to) 50 ℃ so that the tea leaves are soaked and wait for 2 minutes. Please enjoy the traditional taste and aroma that spreads in your mouth. Product Description Ingredients: Green Tea Harvest: May Region: Upper mountains of Yabe village, Yame District, Fukuoka, Japan. Altitude about 600 meters. Made from tea plants originally planted in 1968 About the Farm Chiyonoen Tea Farm is a small tea garden operated by husband and wife farmers Masashi and Eri Harashima deep in the mountains of Yabe Village, Fukuoka, Japan. The 3rd generation farm specializes in high grade mountain-grown sencha and gyokuro. Established by his grandfather and the farm's namesake, Chiyokichi. Learn more about Chiyonoen Tea Garden
