Jackseed Gyokuro

Having this one this morning. I just brewed in my mug, 30 sec, 80C. It’s very nutty & buttery. I was expecting deep green taste and even though it’s there , the nutty/buttery flavour is what I noticed first. I also pick up vanilla. I wonder if the nutty/buttery flavour is coming from the jackseeds? Overall a pretty good tea. Seemed perfect brewing only for 30 sec.

First time brewing gyokuro, so I might come back and edit this after a few more passes at this since I have over an ounce to play with, :).

Made it in my gaiwan (open lid) with water temps starting at 125 and ending at about 140 (it was hard to keep measuring) with prewarmed cup and gaiwan, about 90 ml per brew with 5 grams at 2.5 minutes, 30 seconds, 45 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, and 3 minutes. Brews a yellower green gold with a strong green tea/seaweed aroma. I wasn’t ready or expecting the first cup which whacked me in the face with the strong seaweed flavor and astringency (will probably cut the first steep down considerably in the future), but the succeeding cups were very smooth and full bodied, with a hearty, savory green tea profile enhanced by a definite additional nuttiness and a surprising hint of fruit that I am going to attribute to the jackseed (I had a piece or two in there). As each steep lessened the green tea taste, the fruitiness increased and I also began to find a definite flavor and smell of vanilla towards the end of each sip, which was a pleasant surprise toward the end.

Don’t have any other gyokuro to compare it to, but on its own, I was quite pleased with my impulse buy.

I will write about this again, but I had two pleasant cups from a light teaspoon of this.

I was looking for a solid green tea that I can drink daily-not too sweet, not too grassy. This was a happy medium…though the umami and spinach notes are normally strong with Gyokuros. The vanilla, though, made it a creamy grassier. Vanilla was more dominant. It almost reminded me of vanilla frosting in how whispy it was-but it was not nearly that sugary or thick. More like the type of vanilla flavoring. Wispy vanilla is what I’ll stick to.

I did not have a seed in this cup, but I tasted on occasional fruitiness that reminded me of a Japanese candy I tried when I was growing up in Hawaii. Not quite sure how to describe it. Maybe nectar might be close, but my cup was way too light and vanilla like to make that official. I still tasted some umami and classic green tea grassiness from the Gyokuro. That profile was the back ground and body though.

Like I said, I’ll write on this tea again. I can officially say it made my morning easier before I had latte. I will drink this pretty often.

GCTTB

I have no idea what jackseed’s taste like. As many know, i’m also not a huge fan of green teas. However, the point of travelling tea boxes is to try new things! Plus i need to make some actual room so that i can add things! I happened across an article this morning about cold brewing tea japanese style? (http://www.teaspoonsandpetals.com/teaspoons-petals/2016/02/shinobi-cha-ice-brewed-tea.html) I tried it out with this one and it was an interesting experience. It was neat to watch the ice melt and the tea gradually take on a darker colour. The flavour was a little intense, so i suspect this would be better done with a straight tea but it was fun to try! I think people who enjoy greens teas should give this one a shot. :)

So I unfortunately oversteeped this the first time I had it (forgot it was gyokuro and needed a super short infusion), but I did still drink it. I’m not sure if it was my imagination, but I felt like I could taste the vanilla, and really enjoyed it. The jackfruit seeds, not so much, though there was one in the infuser. I’ll have to keep a closer eye on it next time. Rating tentatively for now.

Later infusions were really only gyokuro.

Remember a while ago I had allergy tests and they came back that I was not allergic to anything? I think that the test might have been incorrect, because I was feeling better! My sore throat and slightly stuffy nose and cough had eased up, then I spent a day outside and then another with all the windows open and I woke up sick again! There are no new things in the house to cause irritation, so it must be allergies, it being so wet this year that it must be mold. I dunno, I am sick of this sore throat, so time to take loopy allergy meds and crank up the air purifier to full blast! On a more fun note, I started a Wedding Registry (because why not, even though I do not even have a set date yet!) and I am having fun trying to figure out what to add. So far there is a cat tower and a vase, progress!

Today I am taking a look at Liquid Proust’s Jackseed Gyokuro a blend of Gyokuro from Wakayama, Roasted Jackfruit Seeds, and a dash of Vanilla. I admit, I found this tea very intriguing! I am a sucker for blends using out of the norm ingredients, I love the imagination and bravery it takes to make and test something like this, and as someone who has dabbled in making bizarre blends…it is hard work! It feels wrong to take something as precious Gyokuro and make it into a blend…or does it? The aroma of the tea is ever so slightly fruity, like apricot and a little like almonds, with a tiny hint of distant vegetation. The aroma is very light, at the very tail end of the sniffing there is a hint of distant sea air, which is fascinating.

It was quite fun watching the tea go from emerald green leaves to vibrantly green once steeped, I just love how intensely green Japanese teas get once steeped! The aroma of the soggy leaves and seed bits is fruity, again the apricot notes are present, add in chestnuts and a touch of almonds for nutty sweetness. Then boom, straight into strong almost salty, buttery, asparagus and kelp, the Gyokuro showed up, hehe! The liquid is pretty mild, not much going on, a touch of green vegetation notes and a tiny touch of nuttiness, really it is very mild.

The tea starts off mild, very smooth mouthfeel and rather thick. Not as thick as I am used to with Gyokuro since I brewed this more Western style than the traditional ton of Gyokuro and very little water method. The tasting starts with buttery asparagus and fresh kelp and sea air, this moves to chestnuts and apricots. It is a little different from apricots, more like a blend between an apricot and banana with a papaya edge, it could in fact, be Jackfruit, but I have not had the pleasure of eating that in well over a decade, and it was only a small taste. Clearly I need to go on another palate expanding adventure! After that burst of fruitiness it moves on to savory again, with a finish of asparagus and a touch of broken hay and grass, which is very subtle. I am honestly not sure how I feel about this tea, I found myself wanting more from the nutty and fruity notes, like they kept teasing me, but on the other hand the subtle wisps of flavor fascinated me, like I was chasing down an adventure, a treasure hunt in my mouth. I am tempted to get more and brew it traditional using my pseudo-houhin and see how the tastes change, a curious tea and a curious experience!

For blog and photo: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2015/08/liquid-proust-teas-jackseed-gyokuro-tea.html

Part of me thinks I’m crazy for spending a few hours on roasting jackfruit seeds… but I just had to!
Jackseed is said to taste like walnut but I found them to be quite mellow so I put a tiny bit of vanilla on them before the final roasting session. I can’t wait until I have a dehydrator because I will for sure have jackfruit pieces in my teas and that will make me smile