Kurihara Tea #15: 2023 Gyokuro Shiraore (Karigane Kukicha) Leaf Stem Tea 玉露白折 Kurihara Tea Farm

This tea coming from the award-winning Kurihara Tea Farm is a shiraore leaf stem tea, it was made from leaf stems filtered from the production of their incredible gyokuro. So, what exactly do we mean by shiraore? Shiraore actually belongs to the category of kukicha (“twig tea”), which is a green tea made with parts of the tea plant that is usually not used for making the most common type of green tea such as sencha or gyokuro. This gyokuro shiraore consists of a blend of tea stems, stalks and twigs which come from the production of gyokuro. This is the reason why it is considered to be the highest quality of kukicha. Similar to a gyokuro, with shiraore tea, one will experience umami which comes from the high theanine content. While in Kyushu (the most southern island), the people call this type of tea shiraore, Kyoto folks call it karigane.

Product Info

• Name: Gyokuro Shiraore 
• Japanese name: 玉露白折
• Ingredients: Green tea
• Ingredients: 100% Yamecha green tea leaf stems 
• Region: Yabe Village, Yame City, Fukuoka Prefecture
• Notes: Machine harvested

Vendor Info

• Name: Kurihara Seicha Ltd.
• Members: Kippei, Yuji, and Akio Kurihara (Father and sons)
• Location: 4236 Kita Yabe, Yabe-mura, Yame-shi, Fukuoka Prefecture 834-1401, JAPAN
• Size of fields: About 3 hectares
• Altitude of fields: 300 – 700 meters