wild herbs- buttery umami - tropical fruit This Sencha "from the heart of the mountains" grows in central Japan. Unique aromas shaped by the climate of its origin. This sencha is coming from a new plantation deep in the mountains, above a river and surrounded by cedar forest. Its flavours are diverse and evolve with each brew, even evoking light but pleasantly surprising tropical fruit notes. We feel very honoured to be able to offer this tea to you, produced by Czech/Japanese couple Aleš and Sachi Gallas. The pair grow and process tea at their tea garden, 'Nengangcha', in Gifu Prefecture at an altitude of 450-500 metres in a village which has been producing tea for over 400 years. Nengancha translates to dreamed-of, desired or wished-for tea, fitting to the reinvigorating work Aleš and Sachi are doing in this area where tea production has tended to close down, not open like in this case, in recent times. The symbol of the garden is the Japanese giant salamander, one of the largest amphibians in the world, which can be seen in the river that flows through the village and gives it it's name - Higashishirakaw or Eastern White River. Aleš and Sachi do not use any chemicals in the production of their tea, which relies solely on the area's favourable tea growing conditions for its excellent qualities: heavy mists, high rainfall and large temperature differences between day and night. Their plantation is surrounded by forest on all sides, and faces almost exactly to the south. origin Gifu, Japan producer Nengancha harvest & processing spring, asamushi cultivar yabukita