Kanaya Midori is cultivated with care in Shimada, Shizuoka, at a farm with a history of over 100 years. This area is known for its well-drained soils on the picturesque Shizuoka mountain slopes. Farmer Kawashima-san crafts his own liquid fertilizer that encourages the microbes in the soil endemic to the region to provide his tea plants with the perfect amount of nourishment, resulting in a truly exceptional brew. Kanaya Midori embodies the essence of Shizuoka’s rich tea heritage.

One of the things I’m passionate about with tea, and food in general, is unique and heirloom varietals or cultivars. So I am very excited to find single cultivar senchas NOT made with the ubiquitous Yabukita cultivar. Of course there are fabulous senchas made with Yabukita but I’m all about preserving and encouraging diversity in specialty tea.

Provenance:

• Origin: Chiran, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan
• Grower/Teamaster:
  
• Elevation: 
• Harvest Date: Spring 2024
• Cultivar: Meiryoku, a cultivar developed a Kanaya Tea Research Center, is prized for its resilience and it's low environmental impact. 
  
• Cultivation: Conventional
  
• Plucking Standard: Machine harvested
• Processing Notes:  Fukamushi (deep) steamed
• Nickname: . The Chinese characters for Meiryoku mean green tea. But Mei is often written with a character meaning "clear," which acknowledges the crystal clear liquor of this cultivar when brewed. 
  

History/Pedigree: A cross between Yabukita and the Yamato Midori cultivar developed at the Kanaya tea research station in 1959. 

Brewing Suggestions¹:

• Water: 155-175˚F
• Tea: 4g per 4oz of water (about a level 2 tsp²)
• Infusion: 30-60 seconds until steeped out
  

Tasting Notes:

• clear, vibrant green liquor with an aroma of shortbread & grape. Tastes of light umami with notes of umami. Light to medium astringency.
  

¹ Brewing suggestions are just that. Try it the suggested way then experiment. In this case I suggest first experimenting with the quantity of tea per oz of water. I use 4g (instead of my usual 2g for most teas) per 4oz of water as I like the stronger flavor of a higher tea to water ratio. For temperature, 160˚ gives a grassy, sweet, fresh balanced profile while 175˚ brings out fuller flavors with more pronounced notes. For a sweet, light delicate profile, you can try it as low as 140˚. Some tea drinkers like to use slightly hotter and longer times for each subsequent steeping.

² Weighing your tea is always the best way to control your dosage. I provide approximate volume measures for convenience but they can be problematic due to the variance in tea leaf shape and size.