Description

Keiko Shincha 2025 – Spring Feelings in your Tea Cup

Shincha – the “new tea” – heralds the beginning of the tea year every spring. The first tea made from the fine, particularly aromatic leaf tips, picked in the subtropical climate of Kagoshima in mid-April after 7-10 days of shading. In order to capture the fresh aroma in the best possible way, Shincha is dried a little more lightly than is usually the case with Sencha. Even two Shinchas from the same garden can turn out to be completely different. Because depending on cultivar, weather conditions, harvest time and processing, it will always produce new exciting tea experiences.

The 3 KEIKO Shinchas provide a good impression of this range of flavors. With their scent and taste, they take us into very different scenarios. However, what they have in common is the fresh spring feeling that they bring into your tea bowl.

Shincha Yume 2025

Keiko’s deep-steamed Shincha Yume exudes the typical dreamy and unmistakable aroma of its namesake cultivar, Yume Kaori (meaning “dream aroma”) right upon opening the bag. Combined with the brilliant, deep green cup color and velvety texture on the tongue, a unique experience for all senses comes about!.

In order to capture the fresh aroma in the best possible way, Shincha tea is dried a little more lightly in the last processing step than is usually the case with Sencha. This is particularly evident with the Shincha Yume’s fresh Aracha notes this year.

As a plus, Shincha Yume comes in decorative 50g box, making it a visual highlight of your tea shelve. In addition, the stylish box qualifies this tea as a precious gift or present. However, please note: due to its nature-given rareness, we can offer you this special green tea for a short period only. Therefore, secure your package now!

The varietals:

• 100% Yume Kaori from the Keiko organic tea farm in Kawanabe (Chiran)

What the producer says…

Experiencing Shincha Yume means coming to your senses. The special aroma of this extraordinary tea flatters the taste buds and swings between mouth and nose with a delightful fragrance, which is specific to the cultivar. Let Shincha Yume take you by the hand, soak up the tranquility and feel the comfort of being in the moment.

What is Shincha?

In Japan, the term Shincha refers to the fresh teas from the first days of the spring harvest. However, in order to qualify as Shincha in the narrower sense, green tea needs to meet even more conditions. So, processing and airtight sealing needs to take place immediately upon picking. Plus, shipping to the end consumer needs to take place on the quickest possible way. Due to their exceptionally fresh and exhilarate taste and fragrance, the new spring season’s fresh teas enjoy highest popularity both in Japan and among green tea lovers worldwide. Because of their particularly fresh, invigorating taste and scent, Shincha teas are extremely popular both in Japan and around the world. Early pickings like the Shincha Yume also have a particularly high theanine content, becoming noticeable in the sweet taste.

For how long a Shincha might be referred to as such depends solely on its freshness. This is why the producer of our Shincha Classic processes and vacuum-packages the freshly harvested tea leaves on site immediately upon picking. Then, they instantaneously ship it to the distributor in Germany, who in turn forwards our “contingent” to us without any delay. Due to the extremely limited yield of this picking and the high freshness requirement, this tea is only available for a very short time.

What is “Kabusecha” / “Kabuse Cha” ?

Shincha Yume is a Kabusecha tea. Kabusecha tea (also: “Kabuse Sencha”) is a typical Japanese (half-shaded) green tea. In particular, it defines through the half-shading of the tea gardens with “Kabuse” nets during the days/weeks before picking. Also, the shading period causes a time delay in the tea’s way to market. That is, compared to unshaded Shincha (“Shincha Sencha”), going to market several weeks earlier. In favor of a higher quality of the tea, the tea bushes thrive under Kabuse nets (jap: net = kabuse) during the last (up to 3) weeks before the harvest.

The “Kabuse Cha” Method

Unlike Gyokuro Tea, for which shading is done for several weeks before the harvest, the Kabusecha shading method comprises a “half-shading”. For example, shading takes place for up to 3 weeks before picking for our Kabusecha Tenko). At this, the Kabuse nets filter out ca. 50% of the sunlight (compared to ca. 90% for Gyokuro). Therefore, Kabusecha tea is also commonly referred to as half-shaded tea. Due to the shading, the tea leaves develop a high content of chlorophyll and other active substances while reducing bitter substances at the same time. Their characteristic “shade aroma” is called “ooika”.

The idea behind the Kabusecha method is that of the recreation of natural conditions. This means a part-shading of the tea bushes as would take place through trees and larger bushes in natural environments. The ca. 50% withdrawal of light during this period triggers activities in the tea plant. These again lead to a change of composition of the ingredients. As result, the tea shows higher amounts of amino acids (e.g. Theanine) and alkaloids (e.g. Caffeine, Theophyllin). Also, a reduction of bitterns (e.g. Catechine) is notable, among others resulting in a higher sweetness of the tea. Another effect of the shading is the enhancement of the aromatic fragrance and deep green color of the tea.

In order to achieve optimal exploitation of the active ingredients and to prevent oxidation processes, the freshly picked deep green tea leaves undergo steaming, cooling, rolling and drying according to the standard procedure of Japanese green tea processing. The producer of this Shincha tea’s health and environment-friendly certification complies with both Japanese and EU standards. They vacuum the tea immediately upon completion of the processing cycle. This way, the active substances, aromatic fragrance and intensive taste remain preserved throughout the tea’s streamlined way to distant shores. And right up to your tea cup!

Our preparation recommendation:

In a suitable vessel (clay, glass or porcelain are best), pour 2-3g Shincha Yume (Kabusecha) tea leaves with (as soft as possible) water of a temperature of ca. 65°C-70°C . For a first infusion, leave for 1-2 minutes, according to personal taste. Then, a second infusion needs only 10-20 seconds for best taste. After that, there is sufficient potential for a third and fourth infusion with steeping periods of 1-2 minutes.

For more Shincha teas at Siam Tea Shop, please click on the following link:

Shincha Teas at Siam Tea Shop

For more information about Japanese green teas, please also read our relevant article in Siam Tea Blog:

“Japanese Green Tea – History and Present Face”

A detailed overview of the history and development of tea culture in Japan is provided by

Tea Cultures of the World (5)

History of Tea Culture in Japan