554 Tasting Notes
Second time trying this tea and it came out better. Still not very complex, but possesses a good balance of flavours, which was probably intended by mixing various types of tea. There is not a huge difference between various steeps, but naturally umami gradually dies out while astringency appears around 3rd and especially 4th steep. The last, fifth, steep is lacking in many respect with respect to the previous ones, so I didn’t push it any further.
6 g of tea
1st steep, 70°C, 60 sec, 60 ml
2nd steep, 75°C, 30 sec, 100 ml
3rd steep, 80°C, 60 sec, 100 ml
4th steep, 80°C, 100 sec, 100 ml
5th steep, 90°C, 150 sec, 100 ml
Flavors: Astringent, Broth, Butter, Grass, Pineapple, Umami
Preparation
This tea has a great balanced flavour, which develops nicely over different steeps. A nice little surprise are the hidden woody flavours which are rarely found in green teas. I suppose these might originate from the use of harder twigs as well as stems.
1st steep, 68°C, 60 sec: Umami and sweet notes dominate.
2nd steep, 72°C, 30 sec: Umami and sweetness still present, but the soup is more clouded and viscous with vegetal notes coming to the fore. Very nice mouthfeel.
3rd steep, 78 °C, 60 sec: Astringent and citrus notes appear, but do not dominate.
4th steep, 85 °C, 120 sec: The taste profile is the flattest with surprisingly mild astringency. Citrus notes seem to be the most present, especially in the aftertaste.
Overall, I am impressed.
(Out of curiosity, I also went for 5th steep, 90 °C, 240 sec. As expected, the tea doesn’t have much to offer there. This last brew is somewhat bitter and grassy, but not particularly enjoyable.)
Flavors: Citrus, Grass, Umami, Vegetal, Wood
Preparation
Level: Delicous.
To my surprise, this tea was not a blend of senchas, but rather a blend of karigane, sencha and bancha. Overall, it’s not bad, but not quite what I expected. The flavour profile is flatter and less complex than that of higher grade senchas, but with the vegetal notes still on the forefront.
Flavors: Butter, Vegetal
Preparation
Very light tea with virtually no astringency and a vibrant balance of the nutty flavours of toasted rice, the sweetness of kukicha and vegetal notes of bancha.
Harvest: Spring 2016
Cultivar: Blended
Region: Uji, Kyoto
Flavors: Grass, Nutty, Sweet, Toasted Rice
Preparation
Very forgiving tea with respect to brewing time. The jasmine scent is subtle, but complements the mild flavours of the tea well. In later steeps, when the jasmine scent is mostly gone, the tea develops a noticeable apricot aroma and flavour, which is slightly sour.
Flavors: Apricot, Jasmine
