Nakamura Tokichi Global Premium Hatsu-Mukashi No.2 review

Overview

Tokichi separates their top Shirakawa Asahi into two lots. They aren't blends of each other but different harvest expressions of the same cultivar, and they taste meaningfully different.

Flavor

Same heavy umami structure as No.1. Sweetness sits a notch lower (3 vs 4), and the texture is leaner. Vegetal is full but not at the ceiling. If No.1 is the rounded one, No.2 is the more savory of the pair.

Verdict

Koicha. If you've tried No.1 and want to taste what one cultivar can do across two harvests in the same year, No.2 is the comparison piece.