Hoshino Hon Gyokuro Zairai (30g)

Seed-grown Hon Gyokuro from Hoshino village, Yame, Fukuoka, Japan

These bushes were planted from seed by the great-grandfather of our award-winning Gyokuro farmer, and the garden is now over 100 years old. Zairai means that every single plant in the field is genetically different, which is the state all Japanese tea was in before the first named cultivar was registered in 1953. Instead of one variety on its own, you taste a whole population of plants in one cup, and that comes out thick and wide in the mouth rather than as a few clear single notes. Like all Gyokuro from this farm it is hand-picked and shaded for over 20 days with traditional rice straw mats, which block more than 95% of the light.

Origin: Hoshino village, Yame, Fukuoka, Japan

Cultivar: Zairai / 在来 (a seed-grown population, no single cultivar)

Harvest: May 2026

Taste: Moderate natural umami, layered and complex, very thick and wide in the mouth, with a very long finish and a strong sweetness that keeps coming back