February 2023 – Yuzu-Ryokucha from Ureshino
For the month of February 2023, We selected a Yuzu-Ryokucha (ゆず緑茶) from the region of Ureshino (嬉野) in the Saga prefecture(佐賀県) on the island of Kyūshū (九州) this month.
Yuzu-Ryokucha
Yuzu-Ryokucha (ゆず緑茶) is my favorite tea! It is a green tea flavored with yuzu (ゆず). The scent of yuzu is not strong, but rather charming and relaxing. We usually don't eat yuzu itself directly like most citrus fruits, but rather we use it to make jam, in sauce to flavor a dish, dried, etc.
Yuzu recently became quite popular I think, and is now used in various cooking. More than 70% of yuzu are produced the island of Shikoku (四国), in second position comes the island of Kyūshū (九州). The Yuzu of this Yuzu-Ryokucha comes from Kyūshū.
The tea producer is Inoue Seichaen(井上製茶園). He peels yuzus one by one very carefully to mix with his green tea from the first harvest of the year. The green tea (緑茶), called Ureshinocha (嬉野茶), is produced in the mountains at an altitud