Matured Matcha "Shinonome no Shiro" — Usucha (Thin Tea)

A dragon, in time, calls the clouds and climbs into the sky. Here is the counterpart to the earthbound Ryūdo no Mukashi — a second bowl. Shinonome is the eastern sky as night gives way to dawn. Tea that has slept in the jar, holding the dark, meets the light for the first time on the morning of Kuchikiri; that daybreak became its name. Whisk it finely and a white foam rises across the bowl, spreading like a single wisp of cloud. Against the weight of koicha, Shinonome no Shiro is light and opening — tradition, enjoyed a little more freely.

About this Matcha

• Origin & maker: The same as Ryūdo no Mukashi — Shōgyokuen, a venerable Uji producer (est. 1827, own-garden hand-picked, its head a 10th-dan tea master).
• A rarely-seen leaf: Tencha, the leaf before matcha, is almost never sold at retail. This off-market tencha is shared with us by Shōgyokuen.
• Cultivation: Traditional Honzu shading (straw and reed screens). The softened light draws out a lifted aroma and vivid green.
• Ageing: About six months in a Roppongi tea jar. Green-note astringency unwinds into a clear, bright umami.
• Finishing: Ground on a stone mill after the November Kuchikiri.
• Taste: Aromatic and light on the palate, with a faint sweetness and a clean finish.
• Preparation: Usucha grade. Whisk with a chasen into a fine foam; slightly cooler water is a good guide.
• Occasions: A morning bowl, an everyday moment, time shared with others — and a fine first bowl for newcomers.
• With the vessel: A bowl that reflects the season. Part of the pleasure is choosing, from the shelves of wanova TOKYO, the vessel that suits the day's mood.