Yuuki-cha

Tastes like newly mown spring grass smells: deeply, richly, grassy. A little sweet, a hint of briney, but not umami, gently herbaceous without being astringent or bitter. A delightful surprise. Several infusions in, starting as suggested at 175°F (about 80°C), still very neat and interesting tea.

It is so cool that someone figured out how to use the leftovers to make something as bright and lovely as this.

Tastes like newly mown spring grass smells: deeply, richly, grassy. A little sweet, a hint of briney, but not umami, gently herbaceous without being astringent or bitter. A delightful surprise. Several infusions in, starting as suggested at 175°F (about 80°C), still very neat and interesting tea.

It is so cool that someone figured out how to use the leftovers to make something as bright and lovely as this.

Lovely!

I brewed this up in my brand-spanking-new little houhin that I acquired through Yuuki-cha. I was SO EXCITED to brew this up! My first gyokuro!

I’ll admit that 000 is correct in the assertion that the leaves are a total mess. They look like they’ve been through a wood-chipper. Even so, the dry leaf smells gorgeously kelpy. Seaweed in a way I like. I have trouble articulating where the line between “good” and “bad” seaweed goes – the best I can do is say that “bad” seaweed is the taste/smell you get in cheaper sushis, kinda overpowering and kinda fishy too. (Different than the fish “fishy”, if you know what I mean.) Anyway. None of that here. It’s GOOD seaweed.

I’ll admit I didn’t brew this in the ideal conditions. The result was a slightly more astringent tea than should have been, though I can still see beautiful potential. I used two teaspoons for my houhin – which holds about 5.5 oz to a reasonable water level. (7oz to the rim, but then it would be one hot mess.) The instructions enclosed with the shipment said to brew a strong gyokuro at 105F for 3 minutes. I couldn’t wait for the water to cool any longer and ended up doing it at 130~F.

The liquor turned out a BEAUTIFUL light jade green. It should have been clear, but there was a lot of leaf debris getting through the houhin’s ceramic filter. Unless I get a pitcher or serve it in a mug, not sure I can use my trusty extra-fine strainer with my tiny little teacups. Even so, I’m sure tea dust would still get through.

The smell of the brewed tea is gorgeous. A vegetal ocean breeze, and just as soothing. It tasted like it smelled – savoury goodness melting into a vivid vegetal sweetness. Beautifully thick flavours, super satisfying! I got 4 good steeps out of it, each one grassier than the last. Unfortunately, the delicious umami note didn’t really carry over to the other steeps, though it’s possible that it’s because I used hotter water than I should have the first time. Definitely a bit too astringent if your water is too hot, treat this tea with care!

Right now I’m having the fifth and last steep, which I cold-brewed over night just to see what I’d get. Grassy water with a hint of kelpy sweetness. One too far!

Can’t wait to try this again, and get it right.

I thought this tea was so nice I made it twice! Although this time I am using a gaiwan and short steeping it. Anyway, moving straight on to the tasting notes:

Sipping from the first steep, the grainy character is very bold. I guess it’s the sort of thing that comes out a lot in the first steep, and since I used more leaves it’s very powerful. The other flavours still quite remind me of Sun Moon Lake black tea, but not 100%.

The second cup definitely smells similar Sun Moon Lake black tea. Drinking the liquor, a tangy/zesty tomato flavour comes out and there is a bitterness similar to biting into tomato seeds.

Third steep was a bit tame, but much like the second steep flavour-wise.

On the fourth steep this tea shifted gears a bit. Now I’m tasting something kinda spicy or peppery, soft malt, and something that almost becomes sweet like cinnamon but doesn’t quite get there. This had less of an edge or power to it than the earlier steeps, but transformed into something with a bit more charm.

The fifth steep was light and refreshing. Overall a much weaker tea but not in a disappointing way.

With the sixth and last steep, what tea flavour remained at this point is sweet with a bit of the grain character. I can’t taste my original water yet, but I think it’s weak enough to stop resteeping.

I liked short steeping this and it sure brought out some nice changes. Following along with today’s theme, I’ll take a break and short steep the oolong-black Sakidori later.

100ml gaiwan, 2 tsp, 6 steeps, (30s + 15s resteeps)

Initial tasting notes for the second oolong-black tea I purchased from Yuuki-Cha. (If you are interested in what “oolong-black” means, check the extra info I put on this tea’s page)

Looking inside the pouch, the dry leaves shares a lot of similarities with the Sakimidori oolong-black tea and when brewed they expand to big whole leaves. If I had to compare the wet leaf appearance with other teas, it might be similar to Dan Cong oolong. Which somewhat makes sense because these are not rolled into balls.

Drinking from the first steep, it has an interesting zesty/citrus and cherry flavour. Like the other oolong-black, there is a nice grains flavour and feel to the liquor, along with the soft and smooth (not astringent) body. The tea body itself at first shows strong black tea characteristics, but with each sip you get a bit of oolong charm. So more along the lines of drinking a FF Darjeeling, it’s not entirely like a black tea.

Second steep was a bit weaker and gained a sweetness similar to honey. The zesty cherry notes came out a bit more, but the grains feeling to the liquor faded. It’s not very memorable after each sip, but it’s an otherwise enjoyable experience.

If I had to compare this to other teas, I first have to explain that because it’s an “oolong-black” I think all comparisons are one piece of the puzzle. So it reminds me of Sun Moon Lake and also of Dan Cong oolongs, but the similarities are just but one aspect. Along with the Sakimidori oolong-black, I can only really recommend these to people looking to try something strange and new. This isn’t a “must buy”, but a “fun buy”!

Another thing I’d like to comment on here at the end of my tasting note, is how I’ve noticed that the 4 teas I bought from Yuuki-Cha (2 oolong-black, 2 black) all share a grains character. I find this to be highly enjoyable, but it’s worth mentioning here in case you like or dislike this feature.

About 150ml of water in a glass teapot, 1 tsp, 2 steeps (3min, 4min)

Tonight I’m trying one of my Japanese black teas (Hime Hikari), short steeped. Out of the two I purchased I like this one better, but perhaps when I short steep both I may change my mind.

First steep is quite nice and very flavourful with a strong black tea body. There were floral notes, cocoa, malty, juicy apple, spices, and a hint of grains.

The second steep was much stronger, to the point where it almost becomes bitter. I don’t normally like that but it went pretty well with the cocoa notes. (I’m sure it wouldn’t have become bitter if I didn’t put so many leaves in)

I continued steeping it four more times, but most of the flavour peaked on the 2nd steep. The strong tea body weakened, but they were still flavourful cups. So after the 2nd steep it’s quite a different experience.

If you prefer a strong flavoured tea I’d recommend western style or the suggested brewing directions.

100ml purion teapot, 2 tsp, 6 steeps (30s, +15s resteeps)

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)

See previous tasting notes for my thoughts on this tea’s flavour profile

Hmm, I take back what I said about this not being a good resteeper. I just had to scale down the short steeps by A LOT. When I short steep black tea I usually start at 30s or 45s, but these leaves infuse very quickly. Hime Fuki is also quite potent, I only needed 1tsp for short steeping in a 100ml tea vessel. I’ve tried adding more leaves previously and it was too bitter.

Overall not one of my favourite black teas, but still an enjoyable purchase. It shares a lot in common with Qimen black tea, but I prefer the flavour of Hime Fuki over that type. Generally I’m not a big fan of Qimen types though, and that is probably why this tea is not one of my top favourites.

100ml purion teapot, 1tsp, 6 steeps (3s, +3s resteeps)
(The built in filter the purion teapot had was very useful here. If you use a gaiwan you’ll need a strainer because the Hime Fuki leaves are small and broken)

Strong cinnamon flavour, reminded me of those Hot Tamales candies.

100ml purion teapot, 1 tsp, 1 steep

See previous tasting notes

First steep tasted amazing with notes of cinnamon, raisins, apple, spices and a deep, smooth black tea body.

Second steep was also nice with a much stronger black tea flavour.

And then like with Hime Hikari, the flavours get much weaker with the subsequent resteeps. The 5th hardly tasted like tea, and the 6th was just water with a hint of spice. Normally when it tastes that weak I begin to recognize the original water flavour, but not so this time. It might be due to the purion teapot, which would be nice since I use a brita filter with hard water and it doesn’t always taste great. ;)

I have to say that I wasn’t so crazy about this tea the first time I tried it, but the first short steep here was wonderful. When I long steep this one, it reminds me too much of Qimen black tea, which is a tea I’m not always interested in drinking. Anyway, this is quite an interesting tea and I’m happy to have tried it.

100ml purion teapot, 1 1/2 tsp, 6 steeps (30s, 30s, +15s)

edit: Please see my newer tasting note regarding short steeping this tea.

Initial tasting notes for a Japanese black tea I recently purchased.

The tea leaves look small and broken like Qimen. Not that I mind a such thing, just mentioning it.

First I steeped it with the directions that were mailed along with the tea. About 3g of tea and 120-150ml of water at 3mins. I tasted notes of apple, something grainy, astringent and bitter. Not a great start, so I made a new pot and used more water to even out the bitterness; about 200ml of water.

The second attempt wasn’t bitter at all and I was able to focus my attention more on the lovely flavours of this tea; cinnamon, apple, spices, and grains. The tea body itself is nice because there is enough depth and an edge/bite to keep it interesting.

Very tasty tea, but I am not a fan of the given directions (perhaps it works better for their other black teas). Both the tea leaf appearance and flavour remind me a bit of Qimen black teas. So I would recommend this to people who enjoy Qimen types, but also to anyone looking to try black tea from Japan. With the right method, this tea tastes absolutely wonderful. It’s full of flavour and has a charm of its own. It’s a bit pricey but worth getting if you want to treat yourself. :)

First tea: 120ml of water, Second attempt: 200ml. 1 tsp of tea for each cup, 1 steep

Earlier I short steeped the Minami Sayaka, so now I’ll try it with the other oolong-black tea; Sakimidori.

Much like the tea description mentions, this tea starts of very sweet. In this first steep I get a lot of sweet cinnamon and spices, with a smooth velvety liquor texture. All of the flavours are in moderation, nothing is bold or shouts at my senses.

The second steep tasted like it had a bittersweet cocoa thing going on, along with the now familar cinnamon flavour.

Again, this third steep always strikes me as kinda “meh”. Even with the Minami Sayaka I did not find much to praise. Overall it’s much of the same flavours but they are a bit weak.

Then on the fourth steep it becomes more interesting again. The flavours seem a bit brighter and the once smooth velvety liquor texture transforms into a light and refreshing feeling.

Fifth steep still was tasty, with a light sweet cinnamon flavour.

Stopping on the sixth steep, the tea has become weak to the point that it’s not satisfying. If I short steep this tea again I’ll stop on the fifth, because at least that one was still pretty good.

I found the other oolong-black tea, Minami Sayaka to be a better short steeper. Sakimidori starts of sweet but then doesn’t really go anywhere. So my preference for this one would be with one long steep. It’s a very mild, quiet tea, so I’m not fond of the short steep results. Not a bad tea, just not one I’m in love with.

100ml gaiwan, 2 tsp, 6 steeps (30s + 15s resteeps)

This is one of four teas I ordered from Yuuki-Cha. This tea vendor first caught my attention when I was looking around to see who was selling Japanese black tea. Currently there are 4 of those on their website and I bought 2. But what really compelled me to make a purchase (besides extra Christmas cash) were the addition of 2 “oolong-black” teas. And I’m trying one of those as my first to review and taste.

Drinking from the first steep the orange-red liquor has a really really soft feel in my mouth. Then I pick up on a pulpy/grainy texture and some sweetness. Very weird tea. Almost reminds me of Huiming Hong Cha from Camellia Sinensis. What always struck me as strange, was with each sip the tea body was so soft and not astringent at all. It’s like anti-astringent (I know.. not a real word, just work with me!). It’s a strange feeling you’d have to experience first hand.

I then steeped it a second time to see if it would change much. It’s still sweet, and has a pulpy/grainy feel. This time the liquor changes to a dark amber color (lighter than previous). It’s obviously weaker but has enough of the first steep’s characteristics to stay satisfying.

This wasn’t what I expected at all from this tea. To be honest I’m not sure what I expected but this wasn’t it. Not that it’s a bad thing, but this was an interesting tea experience for sure. I would certainly appreciate this tea more if it had a stronger body, but perhaps I’m just being picky. I’ll be sure to experiment with this one to see what flavours I can get out of it.

Anyway, I can see where the name oolong-black comes from now. It has the charm of both. However I think it would mostly appeal to people that enjoy black tea because it is very oxidized. Definitely worth a try if you are looking for something new and interesting.

About 120ml of water in a small glass teapot, 1 tsp (about 2-3g), 2 steeps (3min, 3:30min)

Tonight is special for two reasons: I’m using the last of this tea, and I’m drinking it in my brand new hand-made ceramic tumbler! It’s one of two, and they just came in the mail yesterday, but I was busing and couldn’t try them out yesterday. Big shout-out to Mamif!

Back to the tea, I prepared the first infusion with barely steaming water, and steeped for 75 seconds. the taste is just as exquisite as usual, like some sort of sweet vegetables. The aroma might be grass, but I just mowed the lawn earlier, and I might still be smelling that. I’m really going to miss this tea after tonight…

Second infusion same temperature, 15 second infusion. It even sweeter, and had gotten a bit more grassy instead of vegetative. this is pretty much the peak for this tea: The second infusion is the prefect balance of flavors, and it just gets weaker from this point.

Third infusion, same temperature, 45 seconds. This time it tastes more grassy than sweet, but it’s not in any way astringent. Unfortunately, I ran out of time, and I’m going to need to stop drinking tea if I want to fall asleep at a decent hour. Sad, since I could probably get another cup of tea or two out of these leaves, but sleep is more important.

P. S. – Pics of the tumblers: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mamif/7382224810/in/photostream/

It’s been way too long since I last had this tea, and I honestly really need to use it as soon as possible…

Anyway, Steeped for one minute is water that was just starting to give off steam. I find that this tea is extremely unforgiving when it comes to water temperature, so I play it pretty safe. The aroma is pleasantly grassy, but is smells “sweeter” than actual grass. The taste is predictably grassy, with just the right amount of sweetness. Honestly, why haven’t I been drinking this more often?

Second infusion, toughly the same temperature, but I only steeped the leaves for 15 seconds. The result is a very sweet tea. It’s still grassy, but the sweetness overpowers it. If it was a bit flowery, I would probably mistake it for the Orchid Oolong I rediscovered a few weeks ago.

third infusion, same temperature, 45 seconds. The grassiness has reasserted itself, but it’s not in any way stringent. This is actually turning out better than usual, and is a rather pleasant surprise. Again, I don’t know why I don’t drink this more often. It would be a great way to unwind after a long day in the office.

Music for today – St. James Infirmary performed by Hugh Laurie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1x7AeEogGM

As I continue down the philosophical rabbit hole of Posthumanism, I find the strength of my Yunnan black waning. Thus, I decided to make myself a cup of Sencha to compensate for the declining amount of caffeine. This really has become a go-to tea for me just because of how sweet it is from the beginning. But I’ve probably spent too long writing this note, so see my other notes for more information.

EDIT -

Fun Fact: This tea is also good cold, being a bit sweet and only the slightest hint of astringency.

I’ve spent the past week and a half drinking black teas, so this was a nice change of pace for me. The first infusion was brewed extremely carefully, using water that was barely steaming and steeped for only two minutes. The flavor was reminiscent of sweet vegetables, with only the barest hint of grass. I also had a very large amount of tea dust and small leaf pieces floating around in the tea, which was a bit odd, but didn’t detract from the rest of the experience.
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The second infusion was brewed even lower, 140 degrees at most, and was steeped for only 45 seconds. I find that a flash infusion for the second and third infusion of sencha tastes the best, but that is a bit of a personal preference. Anyway, this was sweeter than the first, and the grassy flavors were completely gone. A very enjoyable cup.

The third (and final) infusion was steeped at an unknown temperature for a minute and a half. It was pretty much the same as the second infusion, and not particularly noteworthy.

Just moved back into my dorm, and I’m in need of some caffeine. I accidentally oversteeped the first infusion while getting my laptop set up again, but everything turned out alright. I was using relatively cold water (65 degrees centigrade), so it didn’t turn out too astringent. The aroma reminds me of freshly cut grass and asparagus. The taste of the tea was also superb, with delightfully sweet grass and vegetables being very prominent.

The second infusion was done as a flash steeping, which has previously resulted in very good tea. This was no exception, as the tea had a delightful light green color and a sweet, yet subdued, grassy aroma. The Tea was a bit milder in that the grassy flavor has become subdued, yet the sweet vegetable flavors still remain.

The third infusion was steeped for 45 seconds to try and get some more flavor out of it. The resulting tea was the same color as the previous infusion, but the aroma had faded further. The taste of the tea was very mild, bordering on generic. Sure, it retained its sweetness, but the vegetable flavors were starting to become indistinct. It’s still a very good tea, and is well above average as far as senchas go, but I think that I will only get one more infusion out of these leaves.

I only ended up having one infusion of this tea due to all of the spur-of-the-moment events that happened, so see my previous note. The only thing that I changed was how I brewed it, and this in no way changed the flavors present.

I got this tea for Christmas after it finally cleared customs, and I am happy to report that it was worth the wait. This is a fukamushi sencha, which means that it is steamed for a longer period of time, and it’s the first one I have gotten to try, so I was very excited.

I brewed it at a rather low temperature, and for a relatively short amount of time because I’ve found that Japanese greens can be very unforgiving if you aren’t careful. The first infusion had a very pleasing aroma of grass and vegetation, but it was not overwhelming. The taste of the first infusion was superb, with just the right amount of sweetness. The tea is also a very vibrant green color, with a good deal of tea dust floating in the tea. The only other tea I have that looks like this is my Mellow Monk Top Leaf, but that tea tastes very different in it’s first infusion.

The second and third infusions exhibited a very rapid decrease in the grassiness of the tea, leaving behind a balanced and sweet tea. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still very good, but it borders on being generic.

The forth infusion was mostly notable for being sweet, but having very little flavor. Regardless, this tea is still fantastic, and truly deserves a high rating.

I went a little nuts this year with shincha pre-ordering. I had never ordered from Yuuki-cha and they have a fair number of interesting teas – black, oolong and pan-fried Japanese teas. I did try to rein myself in a bit but with so many different and unusual teas, I pretty much blew my shincha budget on the one order and not even all of it on shincha. This one, though, was one of the new-crop teas I picked up.

Honestly, it’s a pretty wild tea. It’s just so flavorful! It’s got notes that I recognize from sencha, but also Chinese green notes. It smells like a thick, green, vegetal honey. And the taste is amazing – it’s sweet. Very sweet. It’s almost fruity in a way that makes me think of slightly unripened mango. It’s a very bright and vibrant taste. The first sip of this tea always surprises me because it’s so sparkly and shiny!

After that surprising first taste of sweet fruit, the tea transitions into this thick, heavy pungency that borders on bitterness but isn’t. It’s a little drying and prickly but not unpleasant, almost like the brine note I get from most Chinese greens, but not quite. The longer I hold the tea in my mouth, the more the thick, textured pungency develops and then it glides down smoothly when I swallow, leaving behind a feeling that gives a post-red wine feeling.

Slurping brings out a new flavor, a heavy, dark grassy flavor that is really delicious. It’s almost dessert-like, if there was such a thing as a desert grass. Continued slurping brings out a muscat-y flavor underneath that, tying in with the unripened mango and red wine notes. As it cools the pungency increases, giving it a heavier mouthfeel and the taste that comes out in slurping pokes out a bit in a sweet dried hay note.

Lots of flavors! I keep finding this tea kind of shocking. It’s so interesting and it transitions through so many different flavors, like a multi-flavored gobstopper but of different tea flavors. It doesn’t seem like the flavors and textures – mango, grass, thickness, wine-like ending – should go together but it does. It’s fascinating to me. I want to keep drinking it because it keeps surprising me, making the last sip as interesting as the first sip. And that’s not something I can say about a lot of teas!

O-cha.com is still probably my go-to place for shincha orders because they have my ultimate favorite Kagoshima Sencha Yutaka Midori and, as I discovered this year when I tried to limit myself to just one shincha order, I can’t do without that tea. But an offering like this? Pretty much makes it a given that I’ll be ordering from Yuuki-cha again.

I saw this tea on Yuuki-cha’s website earlier in the year when I was deciding what shincha to preorder. I love trying new and interesting teas and a Japanese black tea? Totally qualifies. I picked up this one and the Yabukita varietal. I’m almost out of both of them but I think the Saemidori is my favorite.

When I first started drinking teas, I ended up with a fair number of Darjeelings. (I think it was because I liked the Twinning’s bagged Darjeeling with sugar and milk so I thought Darjeeling = good.) There were aspects of Darjeeling tea that I really liked (the muscat note and the brightness in particular) but so often it seemed that they had bitter and/or astringent end notes that killed the pleasure for me. And once I discovered Chinese black teas and their can’t-make-it-bitter end note, any Indian tea that had that potential for bitterness? Migrated out of my pantry and never came back. (In fact, even today I have only three Indian teas in my pantry, all Assams, out of over 80 different teas.)

This tea is basically everything I like about Darjeeling and none of the things I don’t. It’s like a sweet, summer-fruit-tart Darjeeling was raised in China where it learned to give a heavy, silky mouthfeel and a floral and non-bitter end note.

The dry leaf smells of sweet hay but the brewed tea smell is just shocking because it has none of that hay note. Instead, it is all plums and cherries (the bright red tart kind, not black). It’s crazy to compare the smell of the leaf to that of the tea. The two smells don’t seem to match at all.

The taste is surprising. It is very much like a Darjeeling (as I mentioned) but without the astringency. The cherries and plums from the smell come through on the taste – tart summer fruits that taste like the first of the season, not the ones that have been ripening on the tree for a while. It also has the smoothest, silkiest mouthfeel and end note ever. It feels so heavy on my tongue!

As it cools, the taste smoothes out even more and becomes softer and more floral. Maybe a faint note of roses though not as perfumed. (My lack of knowledge of flower scents is really showing here… think of a dark smelling, not overly sweet rose.) Every so often I start to get a note of the hay-like sweet smell in the taste but it is rare. It’s a sort of softly woody/dry grass note that lays underneath the summer fruit and floral notes.

The strength of the flavor is really powerful. I tend to go for smooth, mellow black teas that make me think of cuddles. But this? It’s vibrant and powerful and bright. Delicious, but energetic. And as good as it tastes, one cup is usually enough for me for a while. I mean, imagine the pungency of a good sencha and carry it over to a black tea because that’s how the taste is. Pungent but in a tart, fruity, floral way. And with a really long aftertaste. I’m talking easily five minutes after my last sip I can still taste the floral tart-sweet on my tongue. Delightful! It’s also nicely caffeinated. Of course, that could have something to do with the 3g/5oz/2min steeping suggesting but just like sencha can get my hands shaking, so can this. So yeah, one cup can totally take care of me for a while!

Yuuki-cha no longer has this one their website. They went out of stock on it pretty quickly and I guess they don’t have the ability (or intention?) of caring it again until hopefully next year when the new crop rolls around. I can’t say this is my normal style tea – it’s actually pretty opposite – but it is such a different, surprising and tasty tea, I could see myself buying it again.

I adore this tea. I love to drink oolong tea in the evenings after a long day at work, and I love this oolong as much as I love Wuyi oolong. It has a great full mouth-feel and a nice earthy, sweet, and slightly floral taste. After the first tasting, I ordered more and stocked up since it’s a limited edition.