Grown without use of pesticides/synthetic fertilizers, Sahohime is a matcha blessed by its namesake, the goddess of spring. It is characterized by a creamy umami flavor rarely found in organically grown leaves. 佐保姫 Sahohime - the goddess of spring. In theory of the five elements, spring is represented by the east, and Mt. Saho was located east of Heijo-kyo, the ancient capital of the Nara period (710 - 794 AD). The goddess is said to wear a white dress as soft as the spring mist. For tea ceremony practitioners, this product would be suitable as a high grade usucha, but perhaps a bit weak as koicha. Naturally Grown Label The "Naturally Grown" series are products chosen by Yunomi Tea Merchant Ian that have been verified to be grown without use of pesticides / synthetic fertilizers. Products may also be certified organic according to the Japanese JAS standard (valid in Japan…look for the JAS logo on the package) depending on your country Yunomi Evaluation - 72/100 Based on our own tasting, this product has the following profile. However, tastings are not conducted side by side, and different water, ambient temperature, etc. may affect the outcome. Please use this profile as a simple guide. Umami: 16/20 (20 being the richest umami) Creaminess: 15/20 (20 being the creamiest) Lack of Astringency: 14/20 (20 being least astringent) Lack of Bitterness: 13/20 (20 being least bitter) Texture: 7/10 (10 being the smoothest grinding) Color: 7/10 (10 having the greenest, most vibrant color) Product info Ingredients: Green tea. Harvest: Spring Cultivation: Grown without use of pesticides / synthetic fertilizers. Shaded 3-4 weeks before harvest. Did you know matcha is best when it's freshly ground? How good your matcha is depends of course on the quality of the underlying leaf. However, producers buy many different production lots from many different farmers. Their skill, the reason why we call them master blenders, is in blending the leaves prior to grinding to create a specific profile in terms of powder color, powder aroma, grain size, matcha color, and most importantly the flavor of the matcha. While the harvest season can make a big difference in quality since larger autumn leaves will be more bitter and more difficult to grind into fine powder, the harvest year is not necessarily important particularly right after the spring harvest (May - August). At this time, leaves may actually be too fresh to make good matcha--their flavor may create matcha that is very strong in umami but also too bitter. Meanwhile, leaves that have aged over the past year will be more mellow and perfect for balancing the fresh leaf. Matcha however does get old quickly after grinding. In 6 months after grinding the color will fade, and the aroma will disappear. After 9 months, the strength of the flavor will also fade. As a result, higher grade matcha tends to have a best by date of 3-6 months, while lower grade matcha has a best by date of 12 months in Japan. Western brands often have a 18-24 month shelf life though. As a rule, we do our best to ensure that the Yunomi branded matcha is never older the 6 months from grinding, and that matcha other brands are never older than 6 months from procurement.
