drank Karigane #22 by Kettl
10 tasting notes

I was really looking forward by this newest offering from Tea Wing, as I have been consistently blown away by their various Yame sencha. I also heard good things from people who had received samples in the Steepster Select program.

The tea (as usual with Tea Wing) did not arrive with any brewing recommendations, so I first tried my standard sencha technique of 175°F for 1 minute. Quite a lot of astringency and a very hard caffeine edge. Not what I was expecting.

What I discovered later is that a much cooler temperature brings out the best of this tea. The dry leaves have an incredible almost berry-like sweetness and freshness, and that same aroma translates to the cup when this tea is brewed at 160°F.

Once the leaves have opened up with the first steeping, hot water can be used for a second or third infusion. Using 208°F for a quick 10 seconds worked well. This tea has an incredibly long finish; the sweetness lingers in my mouth for several minutes, something I normally associate with good oolong teas.

Recommended!

First: 3g tea, 5oz water @ 160°F, 1 minute 30 seconds
Second: 208°F, 10 seconds
Third: 208°F, 10 seconds

Preparation
160 °F / 71 °C 1 min, 30 sec 3 g 5 OZ / 147 ML

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Bio

Currently obsessed with Japanese green tea in general, sencha from the Kyushu region specifically. Also branching out into gyokuro and matcha.

I find it difficult to assign arbitrary rating numbers to my reviews, so I’m sticking with this system:

Recommended = Great
[no recommendation value] = So-so
Not Recommended = Poor

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San Francisco

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