Yuuki-cha

Today i opened up a bag of wonder. Also known as tea. :)
This tea caught my interest since its highly oxidized yet not roasted. Oolong-black :)

First inpression was how large the leaf is. The 30g filled a bag larger than most 100g teas comes in.
I have no idea of how to brew a tea like this, i thought i´d start out western style.

Kobiwako pot.
1m/2m @ 100C

The liquid is light amber, golden. heavy scent of fruit, apricot.
First cup taste very much of apricot to me. Slight nuttiness, clean and even body without astringancy. There is a special taste on the aftertaste, almost like a hint of smokiness?
Second cup slightly stronger body and flavour.
This is very much a tea to my tastes, none of that buttery nuttyness of lowoxidized oolong but still very fruity since it hasnt been rosted. Wonderful!

Not bad; perhaps a little sweeter than a typical genmaicha. I’m not finding it to be anything special, but it was definitely a neat tea to try! One cup left :)

Thanks so Sil for passing along a sample of this one, originally from Hallieod.

My verdict? Fairly weak. Maybe because I’ve been eating, or maybe because I should have used more tea since there’s quite a bit of popped rice in here. I’ll try some more after the flavours in my mouth have dissipated a bit.

ETA: Sadly, this didn’t improve after sitting, and the second infusion was very weak. Hard to give this an accurate rating, unfortunately, but I probably wouldn’t pick it up again. I’ve had more flavourful genmaichas (and actually, I really like hojicha genmaichas too! More roastiness :D)

ah a nice afternoontea before the dinnerguests arrive. Today im making Pulled beef with tortilla bread and guacamole. :) smells wonderful!

The tea leaf smells somewhat like da hong pao, although much greener and less charred smell. The flavour is less intense and more spicy.
I tried western style this time and the result was better than gong fu.
Very little astringancy and shockful cinnamon falvour, there is also a hint of cardamon with a spicy feel and a hint of burnt leaf/smoke.
A very pleasant tea!

6g / 90ml celadon gaiwan. water from kunzan tetsubin.
wash/25s/35s/50s/1:05/1:20/1:40 and so on.

Benn sipping this tea for awhile now as company for the movie “Argo” must say i would NEVER guess this was a japanese tea. In a blindtest i would say heavy oxidized wuyi oolong. The taste is very much like da hong pao. But it laks that charred flavour, its not as intense as a nonpareil DHP. But considering the price its loads of bang for the buck :)
after 5-6 infusions there is a clear woody note. otherwise it still keeps a strong flavour. Good quality.

Backlog.

Bought this as a shincha this past spring. Being a deep steamed sencha, it needs hotter water to fully express itself. I steeped this for 1m at 175 F followed by a flash 15 second steep with boiling water. The taste is buttery smooth and sweet. The grassy, vegetal, and umami notes are in harmonious balance. Nothing aggressive or overwhelming about this tea. Personally I prefer my senchas to have a tad more grassiness to them but this is still a very pleasant and satisfying cup.

I loved the deep steamed Fukamushi I ordered last time from O-Cha but this similar offering from Yuuki-cha was a let down. The flavor is swampy with a lingering astringency even when brewed at low temperatures. However the taste and color of the tea improves with subsequent infusions. The first infusion is unremarkable with a pale green-yellow color. But the second infusion, 150-155 F for 30 seconds, turns bright green and with a smooth, grassy flavor and a hint of sweetness. A lot of the tea’s flavor notes begin to come out in the 2nd infusion. Third infusion, 155-160 F @ 90 seconds, was mild and pleasant.

5.5g / 180ml Kobiwako Kyusu
1m/1m/2m

Sipdown! Down went the last of this exellent tea. Although lacking the minty flavour ivé come to love in japanese blacks it possesed a strong body overflowing with cinnamon and a hint of citrus. Wonderful cultivar.
My journey amongst the black tea of japan will go ever onward. lets see what i can find come summer!

6g / 180ml Kobiwako kyusu
1m/1:30m/2m @ 100C

Ah theese parameters is perfect for this tea! Strong full body, little astringancy and heavy cinnamon and wood. Still just the faintest hint of mint, perhaps a bit of herb like rosemary?
This could work as a breakfast tea :) went down really well after todays lunch of american panncakes. Any of you americans got a good recipie?
I use eggyolk, flour, milk and stir in the whipped eggwhites. Usually put some sliced banana on top before flipping them in the pan :)

2.5g / 180ml Kobiwako kyusu
Single infusion 2m @ 100C

Slightly light, needs more leaf. A tad bit woody but the cinnamon is all there. Will keep single infusions at 3g.

5g/180ml kobiwako kyusu
Three infusions
1m/1:30/2:30

I had a sipdown last night of my yamanami black tea. It will be missed! So now i filled up my jap. black tea tin with this amazing tea!!!
Its so incredibly smooth, well balanced with a aftertaste with a hint of cinnamon astringancy. It reminds me a bit of a milder version of darjeeling second flush. It lacks the usuall minty flacour that is commmon with japanese black teas. The cinnamon is there so is a hint of vanilla and wood?
Second best japanese black i´ve tried so far. Only the sayama black – Mushashi kaori cultivar is better. (to my tastebuds atleast.)

When i opened my box of jap. tea i realized i only had one bag of black left. so i just had to order a bunch from yuuki-cha.com, first tea order since this summer! Next time will be when autumn flush is out. some more laoshan black and autumn flush darjeeling! autumn teas are sooooo good :)

Crisp green flavor, I really like that it’s organic. Handles multiple infusions very well. A very nice daily green tea.

This is a complex tasting black tea that tastes mostly sweet and fruity. At first I steeped it in near-boiling water and didn’t like it. It had a nasty, pronounced bitter that for me spoiled the rest of the taste. It went better when steeped around 80 C. A bit strange for a black. Although the taste profile is interesting and complex, for me it lacks the balance to make it a perfect tea (but that may be highly subjective). I like it though.

I received this in a swap from Hallieod awhile ago. Haven’t seen you around lately Hallie, if you see this have been thinking about you.
I’m not a fan of green tea. I’ve only had a couple of other genmaicha teas.
This is by far the best green genmaicha that I’ve had. No bitterness from the green, no grassy, just nutty, toasty, roasty goodness. This reminds me a little of the buckwheat tea that I liked so much. I added just a touch of sweetener, and it’s a little like cereal. I like it.
Wasn’t really feeling well tonight, this was just what I needed. Soothing and comforting.
Thank you Hallieod!!!!

After being disappointed with some recent organic Japanese green tea purchases, I’m really enjoying this organic gyokuro.

From the moment I opened the pouch, I knew this tea was going to be good. The tea leaves had a exquisite aroma that was fresh, grassy, and mildly earthy all at the same time. Not surprising considering the production date was late May 2013 and I received the tea just a few months later.

However I was disappointed the first few times I brewed this tea. I followed the enclosed instructions and steeped for 60 to 75 seconds at 140 F. This resulted in a very weak brew that basically tasted like hot water. So I reverted back to my standard method for gyokuro: 1 heaping teaspoon per 6 oz of water @ 160 F. The result was a pleasantly grassy brew with notes of seaweed and spinach balanced with a light sweetness. First infusion yielded a pale yellowish green liquor. Second infusion was a stunning almost neon green and the color of the third was similar to the first. The flavor of the second infusion is similar to the first, distinctly vegetal but without the thick mouthfeel. Third infusion is similar to sencha. My temperature/times for each infusion:

1st: 160 F for about 65 seconds
2nd: 160 F for 35-40 seconds
3rd: 170 F for 90 seconds

5g / 180ml Kobiwako kyusu
Three infusions
1m/1:30m/2m @ 95-100C

This was perfect for three cups. All cups was full of flavour. None overly strong and none weak. Next time i will try to find the right amount and infusiontime for 1 cup.
This setting will be scribbled on the tinlabel :)

3g / 180ml Kobiwako kyusu.
Single infusion.
2m @ 100C

On the light side, next time ill do 2:30 or perhaps a short wash first.
Taste is the usual superb minty flavour.

5g / 180ml Kobiwako kyusu
Three consecutive nfusions
1:10m/1:40m/2m @ 100C

This time i treied slightly longer infusions.
First two cups was powerful, the third was a bit weaker. I think ill try 1/1:30/2 next time or ill have to increase amount of leaf for 3 infusions.
Taste is the usual japanese black. Little astringancy full of cinnamon, mint and some spicy notes. Sweet.

5g / 180ml Kobiwako kyusu
Two infusions.
1m/1m @ 100C

5g seems to be a good amount. First cup was powerful, yet little astringancy. Second cup was a bit weak. will do a bit longer on second infusion next time.
This is a very nice breakfast tea. And a good amount of caffeine before the saturday long distance run :)

4g / 180ml Kobiwako kyusu.
3 infusions.
1m/1:20m/2m @ 100C

This tea is marvelous. Very little astringancy, complex smooth flavours. Fairly light. Usual flavours are there. Mint, cinnamon, a bit sweeter than other japanese blacks ivé tried.
Leaf are large, so i think next time 5g with slightly longer infusions.
Ill be sure to keep this one restocked. Low cost, superb quality!

It looks like somewhere along the way i forgot to log this as i’m down to my last cup of this. Hallieod sent this my way and i’ve been enjoying drinking it the 2-3 times that i’ve had it. it’s a pretty average genmaicha. nothing to write home about, but nothing that i would snub. Thanks again for sending this my way!

1.5 tbsp for 375 ml

Roasted, floral and citrus flavours. The citrus flavour is so strong it makes me think that this tea may have had some flavour cross-contamination.

DRY LEAF
Appearance: Moss green with a splintered texture typical of deeper-steamed senchas.
Aroma: Sweet and salty roasted seaweed. Absolutely delicious.

INFUSION
Appearance: A little cloudy. Greenish-yellow reminiscent of lemongrass.
Mouthfeel: Thin with light astringency.
Aroma: Roasted seaweed and brussel sprouts. Light grassiness.
Taste: A mild and balanced fusion of sweet and savory.

That last comment says it all, really— mild and balanced. Sometimes that’s not a bad place to be, at least for a little while.