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Such deep green leaves....I have a bunch of gyokuro on the way, can't wait. This one has a particularly nice yellow-green glow to the liquor.

Enjoying some korean green this morning. Daejak aka third picking with lovely nuttiness, smooth roated soy notes and delicate sweetness!

I'm having Tamaryokucha green tea from Kettl. First time having it, brewing it according to recommended instructions, and do not recommend doing it that way as it comes out rather bitter.... 6g/150ml/175F/1min. Don't do that.

2nd attempt: At 160F, it was much better with the same parameters. But somewhere between 160 and 175 seems like it would be ideal.

"Autumn Moon" sencha from Obubu: 'Autumn tea, memorable for it's large leaves and mellow flavor'. The blurb fits. The leaves are large, coarsely cut/broken, and the tea is mellow: grassy, vegetal, no real floral delicacy, but also no hint of astringency or bitterness. Not a tea to crave, exactly, but a fine tea to take out to survey the fall blooms in the garden.

Drinking Seven Cups' Da Fo Long Jing. Smooth and grassy with just a hint of bitterness.
The first time I drank anything from SC was in 2013. I was at the beginning of my tea journey, passionately browsing TeaChat in the hope of learning more about what looked like a whole new world. I stumbled upon a recommendation for this tea and decided to order it, along with a gaiwan and a yancha whose name now escapes me. What a revelation! All the more welcome since it came at the end of a rough year and at the beginning of the most exciting period in my life so far. So many possibilities...

Sorry, overshared a bit. But I'm glad I went back to this tea.

Q: What could possibly be better than receiving a package of Japanese green tea???!!!

A: Receiving 2 packages of Japanese green tea!!! Gyokuro tasting put together by Victoria and an O-Cha package.

Especially when supplies were dwindling with mostly uninspiring selections remaining in the TeaFridge.

And with the Gyokuro tasting set to begin in a day or two ... and not having brewed Gyokuro since last Winter, I found myself craving Gyokuro! Practice brewing would be helpful as well.

Brewed up Yume (not the Yame) gyokuro from O-Cha this morning to start the TeaDay. This selection is a perennial fave and I can tell you that it did not disappoint! Incredibly sweet, slightly savoury and very nicely complex. 7 steeps, and all were very nice.

Seems I did not need practice after all.

Used my custom houjin by Yamada Sou.

Shall we begin ...

Lost & Found

i had lost a bag of TdJ sencha from yame hoshino (2018 yame oku-hikari cultivar) and forgot all about it. i just found it in an old backpack. the bag has already been opened, but it's pretty much full. oops.

since i can't remember what it used to be like, i'll just enjoy it for what it is.

nice floral aromatics that remind me of Capsicum baccatum fruits (like south american ají chilis). good aftertaste also.

pedant wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 13, 2019 12:07 am

Lost & Found

i had lost a bag of TdJ sencha from yame hoshino (2018 yame oku-hikari cultivar) and forgot all about it. i just found it in an old backpack. the bag has already been opened, but it's pretty much full. oops.

since i can't remember what it used to be like, i'll just enjoy it for what it is.

nice floral aromatics that remind me of Capsicum baccatum fruits (like south american ají chilis). good aftertaste also.

I am having this exactly same tea from 2019, it’s one of my current favorite <3

I am having such a fine session this morning with O-Cha's Suigyoko Uji Gyokuro, a limited edition gyokuro. This is the one I brought to share at the LA tea group tasting at Victoria's 3 weeks ago, and it is rich, deep, vegetal, a hint of floral, so fine. I am LOVING it. I am still not sure when I will get to try this one head to head with the other teas--time is still very limited at present for that sort of relaxed and focused session--but I'm still sneaking in some fantastic gyokuro alternating with my usual morning sencha.

debunix wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 31, 2019 10:04 am

I am having such a fine session this morning with O-Cha's Suigyoko Uji Gyokuro, a limited edition gyokuro. This is the one I brought to share at the LA tea group tasting at Victoria's 3 weeks ago, and it is rich, deep, vegetal, a hint of floral, so fine. I am LOVING it. I am still not sure when I will get to try this one head to head with the other teas--time is still very limited at present for that sort of relaxed and focused session--but I'm still sneaking in some fantastic gyokuro alternating with my usual morning sencha.

Yes the Uji Gyokuro Suigyoku gyokuro you shared was very good, an elegant gyokuro. Time for an O-Cha order I think . I also really enjoyed his Okabe Shizuoka Gyokuro a few years ago, and I have found most of his limited edition teas to be really well curated and excellent, like his Kyoto Sencha - Chadōraku, Satsuma and 20th Anniversary Sae Midori were da bomb.

Chip also recommended;

Chip wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 27, 2019 6:58 pm

Want to try a truly oustanding Gyokuro, the Yume (not Yame) no Ukihashi might blow your freakin mind. I think it is also an incredible value at around 50 USD per 100 grams. It is a Tsuen selection.

Fijitsubo is more affordable but very good.

While I wait for my 70ml Kobiwako Kyushu I’m using the 110ml pot to brew and use up some of my less beloved Japanese greens. Today I’m drinking Uji Sencha Ujibashi San no Ma. Notice the beautiful purple cup. Purple is my favorite color and when I saw this cup on Artistic Nippon I couldn’t resist. The clay is very thin and the curve at the cup lip is just right.

Miyazaki Minekaori Kamairicha from Yuuki-Cha. It's super fruity and sweet. Although sencha is my favorite green tea, I enjoyed the kamairicha more than all of the various senchas I had this year. IMO, it combines the best characteristics of both Japanese and Chinese greens. A shame how an extraordinary tea like kamairicha remains relatively obscure even in Japan.

Janice wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 06, 2019 9:34 am

While I wait for my 70ml Kobiwako Kyushu I’m using the 110ml pot to brew and use up some of my less beloved Japanese greens. Today I’m drinking Uji Sencha Ujibashi San no Ma. Notice the beautiful purple cup. Purple is my favorite color and when I saw this cup on Artistic Nippon I couldn’t resist. The clay is very thin and the curve at the cup lip is just right.

I can't recall seeing purple tea ware previously, but that is a very nice shade of purple. Purple was the favorite color of a former boss of mine, so we had purpose shirt day! It is a great color!

Enjoyed some lovely Spring sencha from Obubu this morning, but got interrupted before I could finish the post. I've been drinking a bunch of O-Cha's Yame gyokuro, playing with times and temperatures and brewing vessels, before I go head to head with the fancy gyokuros from our current tasting. Travel and work pressures have forced me to put off tha exploration for a bit yet, and this Yame has been pleasing, but it's refreshing to come back to the briskness of a pleasing sencha. I'm now enjoying the end-of-day treat of the all-day cool infusion from this morning's sencha leaves, and the flavors and mouthfeel are light and delicate and pleasing, plus shouldn't be much caffeine to interfere with a good night's sleep in the not-too-distant future.