Initial tasting notes for the second Japanese black tea I purchased from Yuuki-Cha.
A sniff in the Hime Hikari tin turns up different flavours than what I sensed with the Hime Fuki tea I previously tried. It still shares the broken leaf appearance but does not immediately remind me of Qimen in any other way.
Moving on to brewing and tasting the liquor, I first picked up on the sweet honey flavour, followed by apple and grains. The tea body seems to be even softer and less astringent than the Hime Hikari.
I know most people don’t like resteeping black tea, but I enjoy trying it anyway. Here on the second steep, much of the original flavour stayed but it was noticeably weaker. The sweet honey flavour in particular really stands out.
Finally I tried to go for a third steep, but there wasn’t much flavour left in the tea leaves.
I quite like the first steep, and out of the two Japanese black teas I’ve tried this is my favourite. The Hime Fuki has a more unique taste and feel, it just doesn’t happen to be one I am particularly crazy about.
200ml of water in a glass teapot, 1 tsp, 3 steeps (3min, 4min, 5min)
