123 Tasting Notes
Second Tasting Note
10g tea
Higher end of the 140 to 150 range
250 mL first steep 200 after
The brewed tea is a definite green colour. The flavour is very savoury, unami.
I wondered if the change in tea varierty type resulted in a less intense flavour (perhaps a good thing like a wine with a 60 / 40 split).
Full of unami. Though the surprise this year was Kuradashi Pinnacle.
Greener. I also had more powder in my tea, I suppose.
10g tea
60C (or below) F
2 minutes
My guess is that this one would make a better matcha. It was also more consistent across multiple steeps.
I will update this. This is a first try.
Cold Brew Tasting Note
20 g Tea
1 L of water (approx.)
24 hours brewing time
I have been drinking high grade gyokuro konacha for a month or two prior to receiving this tea, so I have an idea of what I am looking for.
I poured off the clear portion of the tea and saved it. I then rinses the tea with abput 450 mL of water. This gave me the cloudy green tea that is so delicious. I found this tea to be more muted in flavour than other oned that I have drank.
On the other hand, the clear tea was definitely more flavourful.
This was the most expensive cold brew that I have done to date ar $17 usd.
I also think that it is a bit of a shame to use this tea for cold brew, as the first hot brew is so incredible.
My first tasting note for this tea.
Opening the package, I noticed a little aroma. (I expect that this will increase as the tea has a chance to air). Just weighing out the tea, I could tell that these leaves were high quality.
I have a idea of where it is grown. Tea leaves reminded me of the quality that I saw in shincha this year.
10 g of tea
80C Water
1 minute brewing time
3 brews
The first brew had a lot of unami. Yet, it was not as spectaular as the Gyokuro Pinnacle. Still, that in no way diminishes this tea. Soup like unami.
The second brew was much less so, yet very good. The third also.
The colour of the brews was the bright yellow that you expect from sencha. I did also notice the astringency / acidity that sencha is famous for. Reminded me a little of weak granny smith.
I would rate the first cup above the best sencha that I had from Shizuoka.
Next is cold brew.
Second Tasting Note.
10G Tea
143C Water
Used A Bowl And Sieve To Brew
Preheated Cup
Simply the most umami flavour. The best.
This tea was meant for straight drinking.
I brewed this with 4 tea bags this time for about 200.mL of water. The tea had good unami, though it wasn’t that smooth.
Interestingly how I have changed. Last time I brewes it with 2 tea bags.
Still good colour. I did act some cold water to dilute it a bit. Which tells you how strong it is.
This is the first time that I have tried a culinary grade matcha. This one uses nibancha (second pick) tea. I noticed a bit of a colour difference between it and house matcha; because I had them both on spoons next to each other. It was more of a subtle difference.
The product was fine in my latte this morning, it appeared green. I sifted the matcha beforehand. The taste had a tea flavour. Perhaps because it is second picked?
Update: I don’t think I would drink this ceremonial style. It’s great for lattes though!
