I bought this tea while on a trip in Hakone, an place perhaps more known for its many hot springs than tea. The area is however very close to Shizouka, so the fact that it also was a fair amount of tea in the souvenir shop was hardly a surprise.
The name Yabukita is, as far as I have read, the most common tea variety for sencha. Judging from the more round and deep smell, this seems to be a slightly better one. ( Although, I have to admit that I bought it because of the beautiful canister)
I steeped the first serving using a strainer, but ended up having a very weak result. Doing it the more traditionally way with just the leaves in the traditional pot made the taste several times stronger. A beautiful green colour with a strong vegetal taste. Now, I know a lot of Japanese people like their sencha very strong, but this was maybe a little bit too strong for me. Having less tea on about 75 degrees celsius for 30 seconds made a much more suitable result.
Excellent with some Japanese sweets!
