Nishide Premium Selection: Gyokuro Samidori by The Nishikawa Tea Farm 宇治田原西川茶園製玉露さみどり Nishide Tea Factory

The highest quality, handpicked samidori tea leaves from the Nishikawa Tea Farm in Ujitawara, Kyoto, are refined into beautiful needles of umami deliciousness by the Nishide family. The specific tea field used for these leaves is located at an altitude of 120 meters, and the samidori plants were planted in 1998, making the field 18 years old and in the prime of its life. 

The shading of the tea leaves goes a step further than ordinary gyokuro in that it is shaded with direct covering as well as canopy covering reducing the sunlight that reaches the tea leaves to a bare minimum for maximum umami flavor.

• Name: Gyokuro Samidori by The Nishikawa Tea Farm
• Japanese name: 西川茶園 田原玉露さみどり
• Ingredients: Green Tea
• Harvest: May
• Region: Ujitawara, Kyoto
• Notes: Shaded for about 4 weeks prior to harvest. Regular steaming.

STEEPING NOTES

• 1st Steep – Tea: 5 grams. Time: 2 min. Water: 50-60˚C/122-140˚F, 120 ml.
• 2nd Steep – Time: 15 sec. Water: 90˚C/194˚F, 240 ml.
• 3rd+ Steep – Time: 30-45 sec. Water: 80˚C/176˚F, 240 ml.
• The amounts above are guidelines. Adjust to preference.
• Consider also cold steeping (see Steeping Techniques).

Producer Info

• Name: Nishide Tea Factory (Nishide Seichajyo Co., Ltd.)
• Type: Family-owned tea factory
• CEO: Takashi Nishide
• Address: 59 Higashiokutani Zenjyoji, Ujitawara-cho, Tsuzuki-gun, Kyoto 610-0201, Japan

The Nishide Tea Factory is managed by husband and wife team, Takashi and Atsuko Nishide and their family. Established over 140 years ago, the Nishide family buys aracha tea (unrefined leaves) from the tea farms of Kyoto and surrounding prefectures, and refines them further to craft high quality tea leaves that are uniform in color and shape, and of course excellent in flavor.