Yamaguchi Competition Grade Gyokuro National Competition 2nd Place

Origin: Yamaguchi Teafarm, Hoshinomura, Yame (Fukuoka)



Cultivar: Kirari 31

Shading time: > 25 days

Elevation: 100 m

Harvest: May 2019 (First Flush), hand-picked

Type of steaming: between Chûmushi and Yaya Fukamushi (around 45 sec)

Special features: This Gyokuro got the second place at the national tea competition in Japan in 2019 and is made out of the very rare cultivar Kirari 31.
 
Weight: 15 g
 

Steeping Method
First infusion:

・Amount of tea ：5 g
・Water temperature：about 35℃
・Water amount：about 30 ml
・Steep duration：50 - 70 sec

Second infusion:

・Water temperature：about 40℃
・Steep duration：15 sec
 

Third infusion:

・Water temperature：about 40℃
・Steep duration：30 sec
 

Fourth infusion:

・Water temperature：about 45℃
・Steep duration：60 sec

Fifth infusion:

・Water temperature：about 45℃
・Steep duration：90 sec
 

Sixth infusion:

・Water temperature：about 45℃
・Steep duration：120 sec
then increase the temperature (up to 70°C) from infusion to infusion (up to 12 infusions)


Let me briefly explain the tea competitions in Japan: The two most important tea competitions are of course the national (全国茶品評会 = Zenkoku Cha Hinpyoukai) as well as the Kansai competition. The Kansai Competition is probably the most important competition for tea farmers from the regions of Kyoto, Shiga, Nara, Mie and Gifu.
The teas are judged by appearance, cup colour, aroma and taste. In the end, cup colour and appearance have rather less influence on the taste of the tea, which sometimes leads to good deals, especially in the midfield.
After the teas have been judged, the auction takes place. Only wholesalers from Japan are allowed to enter the auction, but we were lucky that a befriended wholesaler had taken us with him.
The auction will take place as follows: There is a room where all competitive teas are displayed and you have the possibility to inspect the teas (about two to four hours), but you cannot try the teas, you can only take them into your hand and smell them. Then you have to determine the price / kg and write it on a piece of paper and put it in a box underneath the table. The one with the highest price wins the bid.
Because you have to determine the price only according to appearance and smell, there are of course "rivets" every now and then, because competition grade tea does not mean automatically that it really tastes good.

Why are competition grade teas so expensive and what is the difference to "normal" teas?

The effort required for competition grade teas is quite different from that required for normal teas. It starts with the selection of the tea field: The tea farmers use their best tea field for competition grade teas (location and soil). In addition, particularly elaborate fertilization methods are used for these teas. The teas are of course hand-picked, but the difference is that for competition grade teas, a maximum of two leaves and a bud are picked, and often only one leaf and a bud. In addition, the harvest takes place comparatively early, so the tea leaves are very tender and have a lot of umami and sweetness. This of course means that the tea farmer loses a lot of his harvest.
Small machines are used in the production, every step is thoroughly checked and many intermediate steps are carried out manually. In total there are about 70 - 80 people involved in the whole production process, which lasts from morning until late in the evening. At the end the tea is sorted by hand with tweezers and at the end of the day only about 4 kg of tea comes out. However, this does not apply to all competition teas, as not all are hand-picked and produced as carefully as described.
As you may have already noticed, from a financial point of view, competition grade teas are not profitable at first, but it is important for the reputation of a tea farmer and the price that his "normal" tea achieves on the market.
Here are a few impressions of the production of two competing teas, where we were allowed to take part in every step from morning to evening :



The Yamaguchi Teafarm was able to win the first and (!) second place with their Gyokuros at the national competition 2019. The father and son pair is considered the non-plus-ultra in Gyokuro production in Yame. We were able to get a small amount of the second placed Gyokuro and are proud to be able to introduce this tea to our customers.
The special feature of this tea is on the one hand the cultivar, Kirari 31, which is a cross breed between the cultivars Saemidori and Sakimidori and will not be registered until 2013. It is considered to be one of the upcoming cultivars for Gyokuro, but it is the first time in the history of the national competition that a Gyokuro of this cultivar has made it to second place.
Another characteristic is that teas for competitions are sorted out very widely, such as Me (leaf buds) kuki (leaf stems) or atama (translated "head," meaning the larger leaves), as the appearance makes up 15% of the total score and makes the difference especially in the upper placements.
The Yamaguchi family, however, has the philosophy that especially the Me, Kuki and Atama give their tea a perfect balance, which is why we offer this unique competitive Gyokuro in this version.

This competitive Gyokuro is completely different compared to Mr. Yamashita's and Kobayashi's Gyokuros: Due to the slightly longer steaming time, the tea is much "greener" and fresher in taste, with a fruity sweetness and umami, buttery soft and clear in taste.