What Green Are You Drinking

[klepto]

Of course ate the leaves at the end. Great on seeded toast.

I'm out of vinaigrette but I will try that the next time I brew sencha

[Victoria]

Trying to correctly steep a very tricky gyokuro, O-Cha’s Uji Gyokuro Suigyoku. This one requires some skill, and I have not yet found a perfect balance between water and leaf yet. Used Iceland Spring which has low TDS and unfortunately the liquor tasted as if any imperfection in the water was accentuated. Next time I’ll crank up the tetsubin and see if that helps or makes steeps worse. 6g/70ml/122f/2.30min in Jozan III mayake mogake 80ml kyusu. A little thin steeped this way so I’ll try 10g leaf next time .

[Pan]

Trying to correctly steep a very tricky gyokuro, O-Cha’s Uji Gyokuro Suigyoku. This one requires some skill, and I have not yet found a perfect balance between water and leaf yet. Used Iceland Spring which has low TDS and unfortunately the liquor tasted as if any imperfection in the water was accentuated. Next time I’ll crank up the tetsubin and see if that helps or makes steeps worse. 6g/80ml/122f/2.30min in Jozan III mayake mogake 80ml kyusu. A little thin steeped this way so I’ll try 10g leaf next time .

oh my I thought you meant their Ukihasi which I bought and will have it delivered in a bit lol. Have you tried crystal geyser? Worked like a charm for me for my gyokuro I got from Tea masters. I also used Hokujo's yamasike shibordordashi which I think really helped.

[LeoFox]

Challenging my assumptions this morning by brewing gyokuro with Hojo's "modern method": 30-40 second first steep followed by 3 flash steeps and then +10s seconds with subsequent steeps until tea gets boring. Water temp is 70-80C. Final steep is boiling water.

Ratio is a measly 2g/100 mL

The tea soup is of course much thinner but the flavor is still quite sweet. The thinner body does give a chance for the aftertaste to shine (helped along with reduction mumyoi clay). The flavor of pan fried seafood (with butter) and floral notes are soothingly pianissimo with smooth subtle shifts barely glistening on this glaucous morning.

[faj]

Challenging my assumptions this morning by brewing gyokuro with Hojo's "modern method": 30-40 second first steep followed by 3 flash steeps and then +10s seconds with subsequent steeps until tea gets boring. Water temp is 70-80C. Final steep is boiling water.

Ratio is a measly 2g/100 mL

I have had great success with 75C, 4g/100ml, 30s/30s/60s/2m/4m. Sometimes I spread the increased duration over more infusions or increase temperature to 80C or a bit higher along the way. It is not as diluted or extreme as Hojo's method, but I am not sure it is a bad thing...

[LeoFox]

Sometimes I feel Hojo's approach is a version of postmodernism.
Quoting John Searle quoting Foucault:

Foucault said that Derrida practiced the method of obscurantisme terroriste (terrorism of obscurantism). We were speaking French. And I said, "What the hell do you mean by that?" And he said, "He writes so obscurely you can’t tell what he’s saying, that’s the obscurantism part, and then when you criticize him, he can always say, 'You didn’t understand me; you’re an idiot.' That’s the terrorism part."

Hojo's claims and information are so wild they are hard to believe. And then when you question him, he can always say, "buy my tea; buy my pots; then you will know".

Then if you still dont know, the terrorism: clearly your taste buds have been damaged by years of heavy drinking and smoking (what his manager claimed happened to me, hahahaha - though I have never smoked).

I feel this obscurantisme terroriste also in such things like "yan yun" where people swear it is in this or that tea but refuse to describe it - and in clay effect- where one clay is "magical" and that is that.

[Victoria]

Sometimes I feel Hojo's approach is a version of postmodernism.
Quoting John Searle quoting Foucault:

Foucault said that Derrida practiced the method of obscurantisme terroriste (terrorism of obscurantism). We were speaking French. And I said, "What the hell do you mean by that?" And he said, "He writes so obscurely you can’t tell what he’s saying, that’s the obscurantism part, and then when you criticize him, he can always say, 'You didn’t understand me; you’re an idiot.' That’s the terrorism part."

Hojo's claims and information are so wild they are hard to believe. And then when you question him, he can always say, "buy my tea; buy my pots; then you will know".

Then if you still dont know, the terrorism: clearly your taste buds have been damaged by years of heavy drinking and smoking (what his manager claimed happened to me, hahahaha - though I have never smoked).

I feel this obscurantisme terroriste also in such things like "yan yun" where people swear it is in this or that tea but refuse to describe it - and in clay effect- where one clay is "magical" and that is that.

A great post @LeoFox! Quoting John Searle quoting Foucault quoting Derrida’s obscurantisme terroriste, awesome. Maybe more deconstructivist (late postmodernist). Many architects also love Derrida and unfortunately also write so obscurely that it gives me a headache, and when asked for clarification go off on yet another lengthy obscure unintelligible set of references.

[Victoria]

Challenging my assumptions this morning by brewing gyokuro with Hojo's "modern method": 30-40 second first steep followed by 3 flash steeps and then +10s seconds with subsequent steeps until tea gets boring. Water temp is 70-80C. Final steep is boiling water.

Ratio is a measly 2g/100 mL

The tea soup is of course much thinner but the flavor is still quite sweet. The thinner body does give a chance for the aftertaste to shine (helped along with reduction mumyoi clay). The flavor of pan fried seafood (with butter) and floral notes are soothingly pianissimo with smooth subtle shifts barely glistening on this glaucous morning.

You are brave to use very little leaf/very hot water/short ‘modern’ steeps with gyokuro. I really enjoy sweet, thick, umami rich gyokuro (and sencha) so stick with plenty of leaf, cool temps and long steeps. I half heartedly tried Hojo’s method once and won’t do again, was bitter and thin. To be fair the Uji Sencha Jubuzan was a little old, Hojo parameters: 4gr/200ml/90c (194f )/30, 5sec, 5sec

[faj]

Foucault said that Derrida practiced the method of obscurantisme terroriste (terrorism of obscurantism). We were speaking French. And I said, "What the hell do you mean by that?" And he said, "He writes so obscurely you can’t tell what he’s saying, that’s the obscurantism part, and then when you criticize him, he can always say, 'You didn’t understand me; you’re an idiot.' That’s the terrorism part."

That quote was so strikingly descriptive of someone I know that I sent a screen capture to a friend, saying "that reminds me of someone", and his answer was "I have nothing else to add" . Pardon my French : if I had to translate "obscurantisme terroriste", I would probably chose "terrorist obscurantism" in this context.

[LeoFox]

Not being Jewish myself, but having married into the culture, I relish the opportunities to learn directly about the beautiful traditions during the special holidays.

Recently, during the Passover week, I've been eating my spent gyokuro on "the bread of affliction" (matzo). My personal interpretation is that the tea leaves can be considered a species of the "bitter herbs" that is consumed during the passover ritual. In fact, etymologists believe that the character for tea, 茶 (Cha) is derived from the character for bitter vegetable/herb, 荼 (tu), which was used to also mean tea prior to Lu Yu's classic on tea from the Tang dynasty. Here are some variant scripts of 荼:

From wiki

SmartSelect_20210402-091750_Samsung Internet.jpg (220.69 KiB) Viewed 6165 times

Of course during the actual ritual we used something else.

Happy Passover!

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Regarding the tea, I once again brewed the gyokuro using Hojo's modern method described above
viewtopic.php?p=34799#p34799

This time in a sou mayake. The difference is significant. The teasoup is less aromatic, less smooth, less floral and had a shorter aftertaste (almost none). However the flavor is much stronger- mouth coating - and thick. It is not the umami explosion from the espresso technique, but grassy, herbal and sweet. Only in the final boiling water infusion did I get some grilled seafood notes.

Very different clays; very different results. Perhaps the reduction akitsu mumyoi is more refreshing. Perhaps the mayake is more flavor satisfying. To each their own.

[_Soggy_]

Drinking some of last year's sencha that I still had lying around. Meant to do some testing on these, but never really made time. 2020 Kabusecha Saemidori and 2020 Kabusecha Okumidori both from Yunomi Life. It is very hard to tell if i notice any quality difference since I broke my old Kyusu(300ml) and using a small boi (85ml). I feel like the biggest difference is smell. I remember the Saemidori having quite a punchy sweetness that I don't get as much. It smells good dry still, but the liquor doesn't seem to be as strong. It could also be do to my sinuses with this weather changing 40f one day 65f the other. Thinking I might get more 2020 sencha as I am doing a small morning sencha session.

[LeoFox]

Jasmine Saturday. A tiny pinch goes a long way!

[Victoria]

@LeoFox nice going, sometimes all it takes is a few pedals, especially in the evening when reduced caffeine might be a good idea.

Really looking forward to this years upcoming 2021 shincha season, so missing that crisp fresh sent of Spring coming off the open pack. While I wait, I’ll enjoy a few gyokuro that have mellowed out since last spring, signaling the passage of time. Opened a new pack, even though Uji Suigyoku gyokuro is not yet finished. The Suigyoku is so challenging that I’ll wait for a better moment when disappointment can just roll off and move on.

Based on past tasting notes Uji Fujitsubo gyokuro did very well in a shigaraki shiboridashi by Tani Seiuemon, so I went with that again. This is one fine gyokuro, smooth, elegant and mouth watering. I could have used more leaf and next time I’ll try steeping in Tachi Masaki’s shigaraki kyusu, just to see if there is any diffference.
Steeped using 7gr/130ml/140F/2.30min in 150ml Tani Seiuemon shigaraki shiboridashi, using Iceland Spring water heated in a tetsubin.

[guestgii]

Hello,
I'm new on this forum and I apologize for posting here my question, I didn't find a more suitable thread.
I've been in Japan and my wife bought on the street some "tea" in little bags.
The tea tasted like soup and it was powder. I liked it a lot.
I'd like to get more but I really don't know what is it.
From what I searched online I think it is Matcha, but I'm not sure.
I have pictures of the packaging, I will post them here, the text is Japanese I think.
Please enlighten me what is this "tea" and if I can find it in Europe/Romania.
Thanks a lot,
George

[Victoria]

Trying to correctly steep a very tricky gyokuro, O-Cha’s Uji Gyokuro Suigyoku. This one requires some skill, and I have not yet found a perfect balance between water and leaf yet. Used Iceland Spring which has low TDS and unfortunately the liquor tasted as if any imperfection in the water was accentuated. Next time I’ll crank up the tetsubin and see if that helps or makes steeps worse. 6g/70ml/122f/2.30min in Jozan III mayake mogake 80ml kyusu. A little thin steeped this way so I’ll try 10g leaf next time .

Success! Used more leaf and paired this Uji Suigyoku gyokuro with Tachi Masaki’s slightly more porous shigaraki kyusu. I also added some distilled water to Chrystal Geyser to reduce mineral count. Much better using more leaf. Rich, vegetal, mouth watering, with lingering salivation. 6g/70ml was too watery even in Jozan 80ml somewhat porous mayake kyusu. With such cool water more leaf makes a big difference. Another thing 10g leaf expands 2X practically filling the kyusu so second steep uses less water, making liquor richer. 10g/80ml/122f/2.30min in Tachi Masaki shigaraki kyusu.


Tachi Masaki shigaraki in foreground, Tani Seiuemon shigaraki shiboridash in rear.

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