do not even know where to post this, but I thought I’d share this.
Had an extraordinary tea: an aged Japanese green tea. Yes you heard right aged green tea. Outward appearance was larger pieces of slightly broken tea leaves, a bit like a XL Longjing. Age probably from around 1940ies and stored in Taiwan.
Leaves dark brown, almost black. The tea soup was dark-red-brown. The taste… difficult to describe as I have had nothing like it before. A bit of an typical aged tea smell as with Puerh, but not quite. Not as powerful in that it only went for a couple of infusions 7+ if I remember correctly. Needed quite a bit of leaf, pot was crammed full.
What Green Are You Drinking
Interesting. Victoria posted in another topic about some aged teas from Japan, but this seems out of the ranges from what I remember reading about the few of them I explored in the past.
Right now I'm enjoying a really fabulous session with Jungjak Tteokumcha from Dosim Dawan, via Morning Crane Tea's annual TeaBuy Korea. It's been a very fine and typical Korean green until today, but this session is raised to extraordinary because I was eating an artichoke while starting on this tea. I think that must be the explanation for how marvelously sweet this one tastes right now. Artichokes are good themselves, and I think in this case, they made another good thing extraordinary. Yum.
Right now I'm enjoying a really fabulous session with Jungjak Tteokumcha from Dosim Dawan, via Morning Crane Tea's annual TeaBuy Korea. It's been a very fine and typical Korean green until today, but this session is raised to extraordinary because I was eating an artichoke while starting on this tea. I think that must be the explanation for how marvelously sweet this one tastes right now. Artichokes are good themselves, and I think in this case, they made another good thing extraordinary. Yum.
Yeah debunix, this morning I was sipping on a 2016 Yame Gyokuro from O-Cha that I’d had in the refrigerator previously. It got me thinking again about aged Japanese greeens because of Bok’s post. It’s a big topic so I decided to make a separate post about aged and roasted Japanese greens. This gyokuro did very well resting in my refrigerator a few years.
I wish more Japanese greens came in smaller vacuum packed bags, like 30m, 50ml. I have two 100ml open at the moment (tea tasting at my place) and feel like I need to rush to finish them before my trip back east next week. So my rotation most mornings has been 2016 Yame Gyokuro followed by 2018 Uji Shincha Kirameki, Tsuen. Both seem to compliment each other nicely, being on the lighter side and not lending themselves to many steeps.
I wish more Japanese greens came in smaller vacuum packed bags, like 30m, 50ml. I have two 100ml open at the moment (tea tasting at my place) and feel like I need to rush to finish them before my trip back east next week. So my rotation most mornings has been 2016 Yame Gyokuro followed by 2018 Uji Shincha Kirameki, Tsuen. Both seem to compliment each other nicely, being on the lighter side and not lending themselves to many steeps.
I do feel a need to discipline myself with my japanese greens, one bag at a time, or sometimes one bag of sencha and one of gyokuro (which might outlast 2 or 3 bags of sencha, depending on mood and whim). These teas are so good that I can do it, but it is quite different than pondering from 3-6 traditionally roasted oolongs or a dozen puerhs open/easily accessible at one time. I do the same thing with my light roast oolongs.
This morning, more of the Dosim Dawan Tteokeumcha, so nice, but missing the honey-sweet element of yesterday's post-artichoke version. Still very fine, warm, vegetal, delightful.
This morning, more of the Dosim Dawan Tteokeumcha, so nice, but missing the honey-sweet element of yesterday's post-artichoke version. Still very fine, warm, vegetal, delightful.
Used my new Shigaraki-ware shiboridashi today, it pairs nicely with O-Cha’s Yame Gyokuro from 2016 (stored in refrigerator). The pot’s textured surface and slightly moist sweating has a pleasant tactility. It’s wabi-sabi qualities of imperfection, simplicity, and roughness, highlight gyokuro’s deep green scattered leaves after decanting.
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While traveling I sometimes use high quality green tea bags like Kagoshima Co., Birouen Tea House, Oraganic "Smile Tea" (tea bag) with Matcha sprinkles 
or O-Cha’s ‘Chiran Kagoshima Green Tea Bags’. They are a pretty good substitutes when there’s not enough time or the proper circumstance for a full on tea session. They both use medium to deep steamed leaves from volcanic rich soil of Kagoshima, and add some matcha too, which adds a richer flavor, aroma and beautiful bright green color. The Birouen bags are Sae Midori, while O-Cha’s uses Yutaka Midori (Midori just means green). I’d have to do a side by side comparison, but from memory Birouen’s Sae Midori may have been richer experience, although to be fair, those were the first really good Japanese green tea bags I had.
or O-Cha’s ‘Chiran Kagoshima Green Tea Bags’. They are a pretty good substitutes when there’s not enough time or the proper circumstance for a full on tea session. They both use medium to deep steamed leaves from volcanic rich soil of Kagoshima, and add some matcha too, which adds a richer flavor, aroma and beautiful bright green color. The Birouen bags are Sae Midori, while O-Cha’s uses Yutaka Midori (Midori just means green). I’d have to do a side by side comparison, but from memory Birouen’s Sae Midori may have been richer experience, although to be fair, those were the first really good Japanese green tea bags I had.Enjoying another session with Fukujuen matcha, so nice, in the Flower of Forgetfulness, while walking through the garden to see what it still blooming--or just starting to bloom, in the case of a few fall flowers. Sipping and slurping matcha, seeing that the wrightii are finally opening, such a marvelous moment to help anchor the day.
My o-cha order finally arrived after customs took a whole month to sort the damn thing, enjoying some sae midori, wait was worth it, still new at this but been getting good results even when brewing carelessly 
Portugal, sadly tea in general has been a problem regarding customs, not just the waiting part, but the tax part, its adding up to becoming real expensive in relation to the value of the tea.
But ive learned my lesson, with o-cha it isnt too hard to stay off the value where tax is aplicable if I order one tea per order, other stuff like puer takes a bit more gymnastics
Finished my bag of sae midori, had the yutaka midori today, quite different but just as good, I can get used to drinking sencha every day like this 
thinking of picking up the aoi next, since I i got these two based on the shincha order topic and thats the next on the list
thinking of picking up the aoi next, since I i got these two based on the shincha order topic and thats the next on the listMy favorite “everyday” gyo is Goku Uji-Tawara from Thes-du-Japon. As soon as the 2018 crop was available I was ready to order. This year I got to the website in time to order the gyokuro sampler and now I feel like I have a wealth of gyos to choose from. The silver packet is a sample.
I had the package sent SAL this time. It took over a month to arrive so I think next time I’ll spring for EMS.
I had the package sent SAL this time. It took over a month to arrive so I think next time I’ll spring for EMS.
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