Kagoshima Fukamushi Sencha (Deep-Steamed)
🇯🇵 Japan

Kagoshima Fukamushi Sencha (Deep-Steamed)

鹿児島深蒸し煎茶 · かごしまふかむしせんちゃ · Kagoshima Fukamushi Sencha

sencha

Kagoshima fukamushi sencha is the deep-steamed style that dominates Japan's southernmost major tea prefecture — the warm subtropical climate of Kagoshima yields the country's earliest first-flush sencha (early April, weeks before Shizuoka), and the extended fukamushi steaming (1–2 minutes vs. the 30–90 seconds of standard chumushi) produces a noticeably thicker, darker, more vegetal cup with a viscous mouthfeel. Yabukita is the default cultivar, but Saemidori (Yabukita × Asatsuyu, bred in Kagoshima) is increasingly used for sweeter higher-grade lots.

Quick facts

Origin
Japan
Region
Kagoshima
Harvest year
2025
Harvest season
early-spring
Steaming
fukamushi
Cultivars
Yabukita, Saemidori

Brewing

Leaf
3.0 g / 100 ml
Water
70°C
Rinse
no
Gongfu steeps (s)
40, 25, 40, 60
Western (min)
1.0

Fukamushi extracts faster than asamushi/chumushi because the longer steam (1–2 minutes) breaks down the leaf cell walls more. Use shorter Western-style steeps than for Shizuoka sencha; the cup gets thick and cloudy, not clear.

Calculate leaf weight for this tea

Tasting notes

Aroma
thick green vegetable, sweet hay, marine
Flavor
thick, deep umami, vegetal, slightly nutty
Mouthfeel
thick, viscous
Finish
long, sweet-vegetal

Related teas