Shuntaro Shincha 2025

Can a tea feel both untamed and perfectly composed?

This Shuntaro Shincha is a rare Japanese green tea, harvested from a cultivar that grows only on the Tanegashima island, in the very South of Japan, where every spring the first Shincha is harvested. It offers a clean, understated profile that reveals its depth slowly.

The texture is light and silky, with no astringency—allowing a subtle, untamed sweetness to emerge. Notes of young spinach, fresh-cut grass, and a hint of chamomile create a quiet complexity that lingers without overwhelming.

Shuntaro is a tea for those who appreciate restraint over flourish: A refined beauty with a wild edge.

Written by Dominik

The farmer

Master Iba Akihisa (射場彬央) cultivates Shuntaro on Tanegashima Island, one of Japan’s southernmost tea-producing regions. He is also the only farmer in Japan producing black tea from the rare Shuntaro cultivar, a unique expression of his experimental approach and deep knowledge of tea craftsmanship.

Thanks to its southern latitude, Tanegashima is among the first regions in Japan to begin harvesting each year, with the first flush typically starting in early April. This early harvest contributes to the tea’s freshness and vibrant character.