Kanbayashi Shunsho Biwa No Shiro matcha 20g

The Kanbayashi Shunsho family has been established for fifteen generations since the Eiroku era (around 1560). 

The family began when its first generation, Kamon no Jo Hisashige, moved to Uji from Kanbayashi Township in Tanba and became involved in the tea industry, playing an important role in production and distribution as the leading tea master in the Uji tea industry. During the Edo period (1603-1867), he was a “Gomotsu Ochashi,” the highest rank of tea master, and delivered tea to the shogunate and various feudal lords.

However, with the coming of the Meiji era, the shogunate and the feudal lords lost their patronage, and most of the tea masters were forced to change their business. The Shunsho family faced a crisis for the first time since its establishment, but the 11th generation Shunsho attracted a large number of tea lovers by dealing in “gyokuro” and “sencha,” which were newly developed teas at the time, and transformed himself from a tea master to a tea merchant.
Since then, Shunsho has successfully adapted to the changes of the times, keeping the light of the tea business burning under the company motto of “Learning from the past for the future”.

As the only descendant of the Uji tea master, the Kanbayashi Shunsho family boasts a history of 450 years.
The spirit of making the finest tea for generations has been passed down to this day.

In the Kanbayashi Shunshō usucha portfolio, Biwa no Shiro lies in the middle as a high-quality usucha. Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, best known for building the Golden Pavilion, had a deep appreaciation for Uji tea and established seven tea gardens. Biwa, which this tea was named after, was one of these gardens.

This tea has an irresistible, sweet milk caramel fragrance, a complex, multi-faceted flavor, and a silky and pampering texture.
Prepared as an usucha, it is dominantly nutty with macadamia and cashew notes which is layered with a darker, deeper tone of woodsiness, reminiscent of sandalwood. This woodsy layer gives the tea an interesting and unique quality. A sweet and nutty aftertaste lingers long after drinking the tea. It is mellower and richer in umami than Usucha Mozumukashi, the tea directly bellow it in the Kanbayashi portfolio.