Japan National Tea Competition Prized Sencha

This exceptional sencha is a masterful blend of award-winning teas from the 79th National Tea Competition 2025, where elite entries compete nationally for top honors. By combining leaves with closely matched superior scores, the result is unparalleled consistency in form, luster, and depth, rare at this accessible price point given surging raw material costs.

Appearance:
The dry leaves showcase beautifully fine needle shapes, tightly rolled and compact, with smooth surfaces and excellent young-bud coverage. Fresh and uniform, they display a deep, vivid dark green with a lively sheen that showcases the tea’s vitality.

Aroma:
Open the bag to a mellow, fruit-like sweetness with pine-green freshness. When placed in a preheated teapot (after discarding the heating water), the dry leaf releases an appetizing, savory umami layered with light roasted nutty notes, building delicious anticipation for the upcoming brew.

Tasting Notes:
The liquor pours a bright, glossy yellow-green with strength and clarity and minimal sediment. The first brew delights with balanced umami, natural sweetness, and gentle bitterness, plus hints of grassiness, oily mouthfeel, and fresh parsley notes evoking feelings of springtime.
It carries a mature richness alongside a refreshing, green character.
The aftertaste is short and clean, like fleeting cherry blossoms, never overpowering. The spent leaves after the first brew offer creamy, mellow depth with buttered potato and toasted aromas; by the second, a more verdant grassy sweetness emerges. The third brew shifts to floral notes with soft bitterness, letting a soothing aftertaste shine as initial richness fades.

Brewing Recommendation:
For the first infusion, use 6 g of tea leaf and 65°C water for 45 seconds (about 150ml per serving). Subsequent brews: 65°C for 30 seconds (2nd), then 70°C for 20 seconds (3rd).

The fine, well-rolled needles unfurl beautifully in the teapot, a visual pleasure revealing tender young buds. Pair this approachable yet refined sencha with one of our recommended teapots to highlight the brewing of this fine sencha leaf.
Choose from one of these options below, perfect for savoring our prized sencha’s sweet-bitter-umami balance, unfurling leaf, and invigorating green notes:

➤ Takasuke Yokode Hira Kyusu
➤ Hasamiyaki Hira Kyusu

The tea is also available in our Japan National Tea Competition Tasting Set featuring a curated selection of our top-grade teas from the 2025 National Tea Competition of Japan.

The set includes:
- Japan National Tea Competition Tamaryokucha 10 g
- Japan National Tea Competition Kamairicha 10 g
- Japan National Tea Competition Prized Sencha 10 g
- Japan National Tea Competition Kabusecha 10 g
- Japan National Tea Competition Gyokuro 10 g

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