Welcome to Steepster, an online tea community.

Write a tea journal, see what others are drinking and get recommendations from people you trust. Sign Up or Learn More

Bonnie

272 Followers / 294 Following

Gyokuro Genmaicha Green Tea from Teavana

Bonnie drank Gyokuro Genmaicha Green Tea by Teavana

Second Tasting Note.
After my exciting Gyokuro tasting at Happy Luckys Tea House a few days ago, using the Shinoba Cha method of extracting flavor from the leaves by letting ice melt over them slowly (AWESOME FLAVOR CONCENTRATION!)…I thought…hey self, I have this Gyocuro Genmaicha Green Tea…so what would happen if I tried this ice method with it?

So I Did!

Here’s a video of the method: http://youtu.be/4UEZcq1qVtw

All afternoon….little drizzles of extracted flavor…concentrated drop by drop as the ice was melting. Pretty good flavor! Nutty, salty and savory. Not as extreme as the higher quality straight Gyokuro without the toasted rice that I had previously, but pretty good with a lingering aftertaste. That aftertaste is wonderful and lasts for hours.

If you have never tried this method and have a nice Gyokuro or Sencha around, you might give this method a try since it is cool for warmer weather and so easy to do.

Andy at Happy Luckys told me that he heard about a place in Japan that puts out pure blocks of ice with a groove in each running end to end. A cup is set at each end to catch drips of melting water. Then a different type of Gyokuro is placed in the groove of each ice block so that guests can go from one to another tasting each Gyokuro varietal as the melting progresses. Sounds heavenly!

2012-04-26 16:57:27 -0400

I Like This

16 likes

11 comments

People who liked this

Comments

Azzrian 2012-04-26 17:29:56 -0400

Ugg wish I had something worthy of tying this with! Sounds really interesting!

Bonnie 2012-04-26 17:44:54 -0400

Do you have a Sencha?

Spoonvonstup 2012-04-26 18:14:31 -0400

That sounds like such a cool method! Thanks for sharing

Azzrian 2012-04-26 19:47:16 -0400

I do have some sencha – Den’s Sakura Sencha – do you think that would work?

Bonnie 2012-04-26 19:55:25 -0400

Who knows? I like trying! I had pure water and made ice cubes out of that first..but I’d do it’ll be strong and has less caffeine this way.

DaisyChubb 2012-04-26 20:04:29 -0400

looks so fun! And delicious!… I’m doing this tomorrow. Thank you Bonnie, I had never heard of this technique before you brought it up :)

Bonnie 2012-04-26 20:07:13 -0400

Let us know what you think! Super strong and I love it!

Azzrian 2012-04-26 20:44:50 -0400

I will give it a try but need to make ice out of some good water – our ice always tastes funny when we use faucet water. This is why we rarely use ice!

Indigobloom 2012-04-26 21:02:48 -0400

omg I am trying this on Saturday!!

Bonnie 2012-04-26 21:07:28 -0400

I added some salt to the last little bit because it was just shy of bitter and as you say nom….mmmmm

Indigobloom 2012-04-26 21:23:49 -0400

salt. got it!

Follow Get this person's updates

Profile

Bio

Colorado Grandma
http://www.teaandincense.com
Grandmother to 3 tea drinking teenaged girls and 3 young tea drinking boys. I began teatime as in the Summer over 30 years ago when my children were little. We took a break from play for tea and snacks and to chat every day. They loved tea time.
We have several tea houses close to my home and a Tea Festival in Boulder. Fort Collins is a bit of a foodie town. We brew lots of Beer (Fat Tire is one brand) and have several Spice Shops (Savory is the one featured on Food Network).
Colorado State University is a mile from my home and the Rocky Mountains climb higher at the end of my block. The climate here is semi-arid with LOTS OF SUN AT 5000 feet. (Heavy Winter snows start in the higher elevations). After living my whole life in Northern California (Silicon Valley) I have to admit that I LOVE IT HERE!!!
I attend a wonderful Greek Orthodox Church and enjoy cooking ethnic foods (all kinds). I am disabled with Migraines and Fibromyalgia!
My family is Bi-racial ( African-American, Scots) and Bi-cultural, (Peruvian, Cyprus, France, Mexico, Native American)
I’ve worked at a Winery, was a Special Ed. Major, Telecom and System Analyst, Won Cooking Contests, been an Athlete and Coach, Artist, Pianist, Vista Volunteer. I love to travel and have been to Italy, Greece, Peru, Mexico, Hawaii, Alaska, Malta, Canada, Croatia and Turkey! If you check the bio page below…the photo is one from my trip to Santorini, Greece. I took the photo. OPA!