Shirabone

•  An unusual tea in the world of Japanese tea. This white stick tea carries the aroma of hojicha and the flavour of green tea, with a clean and refreshing aftertaste.
• Also called demon bones as the stalks are heated like a devil, and the white swollen stems look just like bones of demon in Japanese folk culture. The tea stems called “bones'' were collected and slowly heated from the core until they swelled to a white color.
• The appeal of wilted tea is its rich aroma. Withering brings out the hidden scent of the tea leaves. There are some that remind you of the scent of flowers such as lily of the valley, and others that are reminiscent of fruits such as peach and muscat.
• An organic and single estate tea produced in the Saitama by Mr. Okutomi, 15^th generation headmaster of the Okutomi tea garden.

About Fukumidori cultivar: 
A sencha variety from the Saitama research centre, grown from a cross of Yabukita and Sai23F1-107 cultivars. A rather mellow variety, with a characteristic fragrance of aromatic herbs and citrus that develops strongly in the aftertaste. Perfectly suited to the wilting process.

About Okutomi wilting processing technique:
The tea leaves will begin to wilt soon after picking, with a gradual onset of enzymatic oxidation. Withering is used to remove excess water from the leaves and allows a very slight amount of oxidation. There are various types of withering, such as sun withering, which is exposed to sunlight, and stationary withering, which is left to wilt naturally in a well-ventilated room.

However, relying too much on the power of nature has the drawback that the scent of tea leaves can vary greatly depending on the temperature and humidity of the day... Mr. Okutomi, who has tried all kinds of manufacturing methods created a unique vinyl greenhouse for withering that allows a consistent extraction of the flavours.