Organic Miyazaki Oolong Tea Kuchinashi Tea by Yuuki-cha

Organic Miyazaki Oolong Tea Kuchinashi

A truly remarkable kamairi-style Japanese oolong tea grown organically in very limited amounts in Miyazaki on Kyushu Island, one of the traditional pan-firing tea producing areas of Japan.

Only around 20kg of this choice tea was produced during the first Spring harvest with an extreme amount of care and attention to quality. Two very specific varietals of Japanese tea bushes, known as Takachiho and Minami Sayaka, were harvested to make this oolong, both of which are very suitable for the production of oolong tea.

It’s a lightly oxidized oolong that has also been pan-fired lightly. The curly leaf therefore maintains much of its green appearance, the liquor is a strong yellow, and the taste retains much of it’s fresh lively appeal without any roasted notes.

The most notable and amazing aspect of this oolong is its extraordinary floral fragrance which is incredibly gardenia-like (Kuchinashi in Japanese), hence the name of this Japanese oolong tea is Kuchinashi! If you are familiar with fragrances of flowers such as gardenia you’ll not fail to notice the resemblance. The fragrance is accompanied by a wonderful fragrant taste that spreads gently throughout the mouth!

3 Tasting Notes

teaddict 2 tasting notes

The leaves are curly green twists, with a rich sweet scent, and hints of chocolate

2.3 grams of tea in a small porcelain gaiwan with about 70 mL water, filtered tap water at about 195 degrees

first infusion, 30 seconds
pale yellow liquor, sweet, rich, warm summer meadow, grass just turning golden with caramel sweetness, with just a hint of a more astringent vegetal grassiness that adds interest without being at all unpleasant

2nd infusion, 20 seconds
this time the vegetal/grassy flavors are stronger, a bit in front of the golden meadow.

3rd infusion, 45-60 seconds (lost track of time a bit)
this is the moment the tea should bite back with bitterness if it were so inclined, but it is only a little sharper and more insistently green-like, yet still that clearly oolong backdrop that is so surprising in this Japanese tea.

4th infusion, 1 minute
Ok, a teeny bit of astringent bite-back. Teeny. Bit. But still the vegetal/golden warm meadow is stronger in the overall impression, with some astringent aftertaste.

Several more warm delicious infusions, astringency fading again.

I’m now on the 8th or 9th infusion, and out to 4 minutes, and we’re at sweet water. But that was a lot of tea from just a few leaves.

2011-10-26 10:45:07 -0400

195 °F / 90 °C

0 min 30 sec

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