The purest expression. A single cultivar is the most exposed form of tea. There is no blending to correct for a difficult season, no partner cultivar to add what the harvest didn't give. The farmer's precision in planning, care, and experience ove...

Decades of sensory mastery. Blending at the ceremonial level requires the tea master to hold many variables in mind simultaneously — the character of each region's harvest, how cultivars complement each other, and what is needed to achieve a resul...