Shincha 2025 & Kyusu Set

Each spring, as the weather starts to warm, the tea fields in the mountains south of Kyoto begin to awaken. The tea plants that huddled up, storing their energy and nutrients over the cold, long winter, begin to put out tiny green buds. Over the course of a month, these buds start to grow, reaching up and up for the wide blue sky. When the time is right, tea farmers get busy harvesting the spry new leaves.

At Ippodo, we blend selected fresh new sencha harvests to produce our Shincha tea each year. This limited release is only available for a short time in early summer.

In the mountainous environment where the trees grow, small changes in the weather day-to-day affect the nuances that develop in the tea. As a result, the distinctive character of this year’s Shincha will never be repeated.

Shincha 2025’s highlight is its brilliant, soaring fragrance. It’s classic Shincha: sunny, fresh, and vivid green.

In the cup, its umami is robust, concentrated, and satisfying. The savory notes linger long after you swallow, while the dry, astringent notes are relatively light, making this an accessible year for beginners.

Its aroma reminds us of snap peas, tomato vine, and fresh-cut grass.

Visually, its beautiful vibrant leaves and golden brew color make this year’s Shincha a treat for the eyes as well.

For first-timers, this year is a classic introduction to Shincha, full of energy and green freshness. Longtime fans will enjoy its vivid fragrance, balanced taste, and complexity over many brews.

The freshest tea deserves a delicious brew. Fully experience the depths of your Shincha by brewing it in a kyusu teapot. This set includes 10 sessions’ worth of Shincha and the brand-new Black Kyusu.

For soft, delicate Japanese green teas like Shincha, even a slight change in brewing variables can dramatically affect the flavor in the cup. A kyusu is designed to help you brew these sensitive teas. (Though, it can also be used for other teas as well!)

The key is in the filter built into the spout, allowing you to brew without a restrictive filter basket or ball. The design allows the tea leaves to expand easily, releasing their full fragrance and deep nuances.

Each of our kyusu are designed in cooperation with artisans in Japan. The kyusu we chose for this set is the beginner-friendly Black Kyusu, developed with an artisan in the Tokoname-yaki tradition in Aichi prefecture.