Kimberley's Kyusu

This single cultivar Hime Midori Matcha is from Chiyonoen Tea Garden, a small tea garden operated by husband and wife farmers Masashi and Eri Harashima deep in the mountains of Yabe Village, Fukuoka, Japan. It is a 3rd generation farm that specialises in high grade mountain-grown sencha and gyokuro, established by his grandfather and the farm’s namesake, Chiyokichi.

This particular matcha is produced using the Hime Midori cultivar, a cultivar that is indigenous to Fukuoka, incredibly rare and can often be very hard to find. It is limited in production as a result only available for part of the year. Though it is a standard ceremonial grade and usually I prefer to reach for matchas that sit a little higher up on Yunomi’s grading scale, I was far to intrigued by the use of this rare cultivar to pass up the chance to try this matcha for myself.

The aroma of the dry matcha is delicately sweet and creamy, with notes of white chocolate, pie crust & dried seaweed, the later of which gives it a light sharp vegetal finish that lingers in the nose.  

In taste however it is punchy, sharp, vegetal heavy and full of character, with an indulgent butteriness and strong notes of dried seaweed that are the most prominent feature within the overall flavour profile. In texture it is smooth, as opposed to creamy like a lot of other matchas are, but it is not completely void of creaminess as it does tend to get a little creamier if left to cool. A touch of sweetness is present, but it certainly leans more to the savoury end of the scale overall. 

It gains a juicy green apple note if left to cool at all in the bowl & when prepared with cooler water it has a very airy freshness to it, making it the perfect matcha to drink in the morning. There are also very subtle notes of lychee to this matcha when prepared with cooler water, which makes me think that this would be fantastic iced during the warmer months. 

For my final session with this matcha I paired it with some praline filled milk chocolate, as I had kept each session before this one completely free of any food / sweet snacks to compile my notes, however the addition of something nutty and creamy against the savoury background of this matcha balanced everything out and rounded each mouthful off perfectly.

If I were to have the opportunity to sip on this matcha again in the future I would love to experiment with different sweet pairings and also to experience it iced because I believe those creamy & fruity note that began to emerge when it cool would be even more prominent when iced and I would love to see if that is the case. 

This matcha served as a fantastic way to experience the Hime Midori cultivar and what it had to offer and has resulted in me added it to my list of cultivars to explore in more depth, should I have the opportunity to. I’m really glad I took a chance on this matcha, because it did result in many pleasant refreshing sessions as I worked my way through the tin.

Art Pairing: The Seaweed-gathering Ritual in Nagato Province (Nagato mekari no shinji), from the series “Famous Places in the Provinces (Shokoku meisho)” by Totoya Hokkei – Color woodblock print; horizontal otanzaku

When it came to finding the perfect piece of art to pair with this matcha, I wanted to focus on the prominent note of seaweed featured in both the aroma and the flavour. I also wanted to factor in the fresh airiness and to narrow my search down even further, I wanted whichever piece I picked to have been created by a Japanese artist to link back to the origins of this tea.

I believe that The Seaweed-gathering Ritual in Nagato Province (Nagato mekari no shinji), from the series “Famous Places in the Provinces (Shokoku meisho)” by Totoya Hokkei encapsules everything I wanted to focus on for this pairing and more. Not only is it wonderfully vibrant and eye-catching, it’s unique horizontal orientation and the depth that is created by the waves that take up such a large portion of the print draw your eyes across it, enabling you to be immersed in the scene filled with anticipation of when the cresting wave will break.

If you want to find out more about this matcha and try it for yourself alongside other teas from this farm, you can find their currently available range of teas on the Yunomi Website – Here.

Remember to use my code INFKKYU when placing your order to get 1000yen off an order of 5000yen or more.

Until next time, Happy Steeping – Kimberley