Type: Green
Origin: Japan
Price: 1 oz./$3
Vendor: Adagio
Brewing Method: 1 tsp of loose leaves, 8 oz. of filtered water, at 180F, in "Kat" teapot, for 3 minutes
Overall Score: 4.7 out of 5
At first, I was afraid that I may have gotten the water too hot. I'm not a purist; I don't carefully monitor the 
temperature of the water with a thermometer. I listen to the kettle and when it starts to quiet down from the loud rumbling and hissing, and when steam starts to roll out of it, I know it is about the right temperature for green teas. This method is what I use for this brew.
temperature of the water with a thermometer. I listen to the kettle and when it starts to quiet down from the loud rumbling and hissing, and when steam starts to roll out of it, I know it is about the right temperature for green teas. This method is what I use for this brew.Before brewing: The leaves are very small and tightly rolled. It looks like there is a lot of dust in this container as well. That makes it a less expensive, everyday type of tea. That fact makes me a very
happy girl because this is a tea I would like to drink everyday (and I completely understand why this particular tea is a staple in Japan). The color of the tea is a light greenish-yellow color. My favorite color is green and when this tea sits in a white porcelain cup, I can’t help but to stare. In my opinion, this is the prettiest of the green teas that I have tried so far.
This is my favorite tea I have tasted. After cautiously tasting my brew, it was not bitter like I had feared. It has a sweet, vegetal flavor that pleasantly
lingers on the tongue. I guess I could describe this particular cup of tea as medium bodied. Over all, though, I would say this is a mellow tea. There is no need to add sugar or anything to it, in my opinion. It seems like I didn't get the water too hot after all. After brewing: You can see how leaves have opened up. They are not very big and it seems like more of a ripping and tearing procedure was used in the production process. I notice there are leaves as well as stems. I’m not sure if you would call these torn leaves “attractive,” but the brew they make is enough to make me come back for more.
2 comments:
Gyokuro is a wonderful green tea to try. It is very forgiving if one does not have the perfect water temperature or if accidentally left in the water too long. The reason is this green tea is grown in the shade and lightly steamed. The tannin levels are decreased and the chlorophyll levels are higher resulting in a sweet tea without any bitterness.
I'm glad you like sencha-- I'm a big fan too. I wouldn't worry about the look of spent sencha leaves, though, I don't think they are ever attractive. Stems are common too-- actually, they're often blended with other Japanese greens to give a tart taste-- so they're not necessarily a bad thing.
Nice post, I look forward to more!
-Brent
Post a Comment