Shelf-shaded for around two weeks, this Samidori kabusecha from Uji combines the sweetness and umami of a gyokuro with the body and structure of a sencha. Shading the tea plants from the sun causes them to produce fewer bitter-tasting catechins and instead make more sweet and savoury amino acids such as L-theanine. Uji has long been at the centre of Japanese tea and has been famed for its high-quality tea production for centuries.