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“So, being quite the fan of the teas that are offered by Holly over at Chiki Tea, I had to put in an order for all of their shiracha for this year. This one was the most exciting to me, being of a...” Read full tasting note
Cultivar: Yabukita (natural mutation)
Master Hideyuki Kumagai
We named this tea Hotaru, meaning firefly in Japanese, because it is so rare that you are lucky just to get a glimpse of it. In fact, this Shiracha is so unusual that most people in Japan don’t know it exists.
Why it’s RARE!
About three years ago a particular plot of yabukita varietal of tea plants underwent a drastic natural mutation, changing the leaves into a golden hue with an incredible new taste profile. We tried to get more information but everyone in the famous Yame region are still scratching their heads. No one knows what happened! Plant mutations can be natural or induced and may occur at chromosome level or at gene or molecular level. Hotaru is from natural mutation and we aren’t sure if it is at the chromosome level or not.
These leaves are so unusual that a special production method was used to keep the flavors and characters of the leaves as fresh as possible. The tea leaves are processed very similar to Chinese Baihao Yinzhen (white hair silver needle) using just the precious buds.
You will take a journey through a farmer’s garden plot and then onto the picnic table as you taste buttered corn, pumpkin, sweet potatoes…none of the “vegetal notes” like asparagus or spinach. This is a one-chance wonder…a treat from Master Kumagai who graciously allowed us to offer it to you.
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So, being quite the fan of the teas that are offered by Holly over at Chiki Tea, I had to put in an order for all of their shiracha for this year. This one was the most exciting to me, being of a mutated cultivar and uniquely processed.
The smell of this tea definitely stands out in comparison to your typical Japanese green. The liquor is a fairly predictable greenish yellow and the aroma is a buttery, umami blend. The texture is very smooth and rich, with a buttery thickness that is sweet from the very first sip. I get very distinct notes of sweet squash from this tea. Overall, delicious, and I enjoyed this for several days in a row before tearing myself away to leave some for tea friends and move on to the next one in the lineup.
Definitely would recommend this one to anyone who enjoys Japanese greens and who would like to try something unique.
Flavors: Butter, Butternut Squash, Smooth, Sweet, Thick, Umami
