Kurihara Oku Yame Black Tea

Japanese black tea, wakoucha, was rarely found outside Japan. But thanks to yunomi.life people all over the world have now access to it.

Kurihara Family Tea Gardens is located in Yabemura, Fukuoka prefecture.

This region is known as Yame, and tea produced there receives the title of Yamecha. Tea from Yame has a very long history and is famous in Japan for its quality.

Before I start the tea review, I want to be honest with you. I drink green tea about 90% of the time, and out of the remaining 10%, black tea makes a very small part. Anyway, I promise to try my best 🙂

My first Japanese black tea review

The package is very interesting, it has a modern feel to it. It is a resealable pouch with a metallic luster and has the picture of Yame Tsuhime, an ancient goddess.

I can see some light colored stems that add contrast to the black tea leaves. There is also a sweet aroma to them.

This tea is brewed with boiling water for 5 minutes.

After waiting impatiently, the tea was finally ready. It has the characteristic dark color of black tea, and I could feel a pleasant, sweet aroma similar to molasses.

This black tea is made with the Yabukita cultivar, and thus it has a light taste. It’s better to drink it straight, without milk or sugar.

It tastes a bit different than it smells. The sweetness is almost absent, but it has a good body and is slightly astringent and bitter. Definitely light for a black tea.

For the second infusion, I used the same parameters and now the taste is somewhat lighter but still good.

This is probably a good tea for people that find most black teas too strong for their taste. It’s also a chance to try one of the few black teas that are made in Japan.

Click here for the product page.