Tencha

I've been making my own matcha for a while and never got to taste the base tea it comes from. This tencha brews up dark-leafed but gentle and sweet, nothing bitter at all. Genuinely rare to find, so I'm glad I grabbed some.

The liquor comes out surprisingly light and clean despite how dark the leaf itself is—that contrast is exactly what I hoped for. I've been hunting for tencha outside Japan for a while, so finally having a source for this base tea feels like a small victory.

The leaves are a deep, dark green and almost glossy before brewing, yet the liquor comes out surprisingly pale and delicate. I've only seen tencha mentioned in matcha-making guides, so finding the actual loose leaf to brew on its own feels like a real treat.