Cherry Black 2024

The Garden

Located in Miyazaki prefecture in the centre of Kyushu Island, Miyazaki Garden was founded in 1930, and has been farming naturally for the last 30 years. The garden was formally organic certified in 2001. They share our philosophy of batch production and provenance.

This Batch

I’ve been searching for a high quality Japanese black tea for many years. Japan produces exceptional green teas but black tea knowledge isn’t quite as extensive. In my search, I’ve tasted Japanese black teas ranging from low quality (think of sawdust) to rather odd (sugar coated olives). Then at last, I found an exceptional Japanese black tea for our library. This is the second year we’ve had the Cherry Black in our library. This is a batch of just 16kg, made from Minamisayaka varietal tea plants on the Miyazaki garden.

Tasting Notes

The Cherry Black is an excellent and unusual tea for black tea drinkers. It opens with notes of cherry blossom, follwed by hinoki (a type of aromatic Japanese wood), all underpinned by a lively acidity with low tannins.

Infuse at 3g (1 tablespoon) per 150ml (teacup size) at 90°C  for 3 mins.

Storage and Ageing

Store this tea in a cool dry place. It should be on good form for about three years from picking.