I just received this tea in the mail from Sugimoto, my first time ordering from them. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten sencha–I really haven’t ordered any since pre-covid and O-Cha’s shipping prices were much more reasonable. Having heard good things about Sugimoto, I ordered their single-cultivar Sencha Fuushun which came out to $15/50g. They also included a sampler of their gyokuro and matcha, as well as some tea bags of their genmaicha.
My first steep was at 80c with 2.6 g of tea in my 150ml kyusu for 60s. This first steep was a golden yellow color and presented beautifully. Lots of immediate buttery hay on the palette with umami on the finish, with no notable bitterness. A touch astringent on the finish. The nose mirrors this identically. Very sweet.
My second steep was for 15s (more or less the time it took my stagg to finish pouring) at 80c. This gave stronger umami with the same milky, hay like sweetness. Almost tastes more like a kabusecha.
All together, a lovely tea and I would highly recommend buying it while it is still in stock.
Flavors: Butter, Green, Hay, Ocean Air