KOUSHUN

Appearance. Bluish yellow. IBUKI presents this hue as characteristic of the highest-quality sencha.^[5]

Nose. A fruity, vibrant and gorgeous aroma. It carries a seaweed-like note that IBUKI likens to high-quality nori.^[2]

Palate. Refreshing umami with mild bitterness and a fruity flavour. In a September 2023 interview, the tea was described as highly balanced. That account pairs a clean, refreshing mouthfeel with an umami reminiscent of gyokuro. A May 2023 IBUKI Instagram post describes the tea as retaining the greenness of the leaves, with a rushing freshness.^{[2],[3],[6],[7]}

IBUKI describes KOUSHUN's flavours and aromas as shining when paired with meals. It recommends main dishes or salty dishes, which it says enhance the tea's rich flavour. It names cheese as a salty food that brings out the tea's crisp, clean taste.^[3],[4],[8]

Declared ingredients: water and tea leaves.^[2]

Koushun Sencha Tea Leaves -- Flavour and Aroma Foundation. The tea is a sencha-type green tea of the Koushun cultivar. It is grown in Ikumi, Shimada City, Shizuoka Prefecture. The grower is Yasuhiko Saito. IBUKI describes him as a leading tea grower in Shizuoka Prefecture who has been selected as a tourism ambassador of Yufuin. IBUKI describes the tea as having a fruity, gorgeous flavour and a seaweed-like aroma.^{[1],[2],[3],[4],[5],[6]}

The producer's website gives the harvest of the leaves as May 2025 in one listing and May 2026 in another.^[2]

Soft Water -- Extraction Medium. The tea is brewed with soft water. IBUKI says it uses this water to bring out the tea's true potential.^[2]

Specifications. Key product details:^[4],[8]

• Classification: sencha-type green tea, bottled; listed as 'Aromatic Sencha' and as a fragrant sencha
• Category: non-alcoholic bottled tea, marketed as suitable for a celebratory toast
• Format: 750ml

Production. KOUSHUN is produced by IBUKI. According to IBUKI, its production is supervised by a Japanese Tea Appraiser, one of only 36 in the country.^[4]

KOUSHUN is a bottled sencha from IBUKI, made from a single named tea cultivar, Koushun, and brewed without heat treatment. IBUKI states that it is produced using only water and tea leaves, with no additives. The company classifies it as a fragrant sencha and describes it as a sencha with aromatic and umami characteristics.^[1],[2]

According to IBUKI, KOUSHUN uses rare, high-quality tea leaves from Shizuoka Prefecture and is brewed with soft water to bring out the tea's full potential.^[2]

Shelf Life. Within 3 months.^[5]

According to IBUKI, KOUSHUN won a Gold Award at the 2019 World Green Tea Contest.^[3]