4g, 4oz water
Well, after the first trial, I wasn’t sure this was any different than Sencha Zuiko.
This time, I’m positive it is better . . . at least, I thought it way more delicious!
That could be attributed to the fact that it is aged, or, more likely, it could be because when I bought Sencha Zuiko earlier this summer, I got it on sale because it was the 2009 harvest being phased out to give way to the 2010. Even though it is kept in cold storage, it still is older than this ‘aged’ sencha by a year, and that might explain the difference.
Anyway, it had a lot of flavors going on that were really good. Slightly vegetal, lots of pine, slight (but yet very good) bitterness…
That flavor of pine (or something like that, I couldn’t quite put my finger on it) was really good. But this had a new flavor in sencha that I’ve never tasted before… as I exhaled, it filled my mouth with lemon! It came out of nowhere and was unexpected. I just kept exhaling to taste the lemon to see if it was really there…wow. Yep!
: )
I had this again yesterday, and I enjoyed it so much!
I used boiling water to pre-heat the kyusu (but only 150 for 1 min 45 seconds for the brew). Anyway, before I poured the water over the leaves, I smelled them, as they had been sitting in the warm pot for a few moments.
I was knocked back by an aroma as if I walked into a bakery, or just pulled fresh muffins out of the oven! How can a green tea smell bakey? Well it did, and deliciously so.
Had to try this with a cold water brew.
I put 3-4g leaf in to the kyusu (not pre-warmed), took 1oz water, and stuck it in the freezer for 20 minutes. When the thermometer read 45 degrees F, I poured the water into the kyusu, but not directly over the leaves (so that they weren’t entirely submerged) then waited 15 minutes or so.
The result was a tiny cup of green tea heaven!
You take the tiniest sip, and yet it is full of flavor: Lemony, creamy, slightly sweet, strong notes of nori or veggies….this is an amazing sencha. One of my favorites this year.
I love this tea. The loose leaf smells wonderful.
This tea reminds me of why I started loving Japanese green tea in the first place!
