2022 JAPANESE WHITE YUME WAKABA from UNYTEA

Описание: A lightly oxidized and delicately withered white tea that has a distinct floral fragrance and a semi-sweet taste reminiscent of green peas and fresh cut grass.

The producer describes the aroma of Yumewakaba as “tomboyish” perhaps interpreted as “high spirits”. The Nogi-en tea farm is cultivated without use of pesticides.

Mr Shimizu’s Father started to grow and sell withered tea from 1960s. They wanted to craft a tea with rich aroma, a unique high-quality tea in the late-harvest area such as Sayama, Saitama prefecture to be competitive and a point of difference to their existing teas.

His Father was so impressed and inspired by the overwhelming aroma of Oriental Beauty in Taiwan. He became obsessed with Taiwanese tea after learning of Oriental Beauty processing that resulted in the purchase of the machine from Taiwan for his own farm. They have been experimenting ever since. They have named the style of tea “withering tea”. Recognising similarities in production methods of oolong tea yet differences compared to Taiwanese oolong tea.

The texture is slightly milky, but mostly aromas of apricot and yellow peach that are a pure delight. In these sweet scents there is also a floral character. It also evokes the scent of the flowers of the tree called in Japanese kinmokusei (Osmanthus fragrans var. Aurantiacus) from the oleaceae family.