I was sat here falling asleep and trying to wake myself up with the promise of Matcha when I remembered I had this sample with me. It’s not Matcha but it is powdered and my intrigue has built up over the months, it’s produced with the same method as Matcha but the leaf itself is different. Matcha = Gyokuro where as this is Tsuyuhikari which is a type of Sencha and is a new cultivar for me.
‘A cross of Shizu7132, known for its Japanese cherry tree fragrance, and Asatsuyu, known for its beautiful green colour and characteristic bean flavour, Tsuyu-hikari, when grown properly, combines the best of its two illustrious parents’. Thanks to Thes Du Japon website.
I am lead to believe that this tea comes in full leaf as standard, yet what I have is powdered and differs from everything else I have seen.
Yunomi.us whom I received the tea from has this on their website.
‘Royal Emerald Tea® is powdered sencha green tea developed by the Fukushima family. High quality green tea leaves are ground into a fine powder using a stone mill like matcha tea powder. The tea is a vivid emerald green in color and has a sweet taste with less astringency than ordinary sencha tea.’.
Royal Emerald Tea must be it’s frequented English name. Well I have two little sachets of powder and two steeping instructions, one for hot and one for cold. I’m sticking with the hot as I wanted traditional Matcha originally.
1 stick = 1g
Water Temp = 80C
Volume = 180ml
Steeping instructions are virtually the same as Matcha.
Runs off to make this interesting tea
Yes bright green is spot on, very beautiful and bright colour with a strong sweet Sencha scent.
Flavour reveals a sweet and floral Sencha with thick grassy tones and a slight astringency. The mixture has separated at the bottom of my cup but it’s nothing that a quick cup swirl can’t fix. It’s a nice strength, I was worried it might be too strong but it’s scent is more than it’s bite. Very creamy too in the after taste after a few sips. No dryness either which can be expected of a powder.
Unusual yet interesting, and strong enough to make me go light headed and on the verge of being tea drunk. Japanese greens, particularly strong greens, tend to go straight to my head. This was no exception. I will be ordering more of this in the future.
http://yunomi.us/shop/17286/tsuyuhikari-green-tea-powder-bulk-1g-sticks/
