🇯🇵 Japan · 1 teas
Kagoshima
Kagoshima in southern Kyushu is Japan's second-largest tea region, known for early-harvest sencha and the deep-steamed fukamushi style.
Kagoshima prefecture at the southern tip of Kyushu is Japan's southernmost tea-growing region. The warm subtropical climate produces the earliest spring harvests in Japan - shincha from Kagoshima reaches market several weeks before Shizuoka or Uji. Kagoshima specializes in fukamushi (deep-steamed) sencha, where leaves are steamed 2-3 times longer than standard sencha, producing a richer, more opaque, full-bodied cup with less astringency. The volcanic soil from active Sakurajima imparts mineral depth, and cultivars like Yutakamidori and Saemidori thrive in the southern climate, giving Kagoshima teas their characteristic boldness and sweetness.