L.S.G.artapprentice wrote: ↑Wed Feb 12, 2020 4:25 am
from seeing ya all's posts I can say for sure I should never use anything but a Kyushu for making sencha and I NEED to get a shibordashi lol. I have used a wide mouth Taiwan buuuut I guess that's a no no
I certainly enjoyed this tasting without a kyusu or shibo in sight, although the pour from the gaiwans is pretty slow when the leaves are so fine. After long delay (technical issues related to new camera), here is my version of this tasting of three splendid gyokuros (I added O-Cha's special limited edition gyokuro because I'd just ordered it before this tasting had been organized).
A:
Uji Gyokuro Suigyoku from O-Cha
B: Ippodo Tokusen Gyokuro
C: Sinensis Yokkaichi Gyokuro
All were the best grade we could obtain from their sources. I am not a gyo pro; at this point I’ve only tried a handful of different gyos and I tend to enjoy them, as usual, brewed more dilutely and also with warmer water than is usual.
Used my tiny glazed porcelain gaiwans and a set of small tasting cups from Petr Novak. Started with 2 grams of leaf per small gaiwan, about 45 mL water per infusion
A: Uji Gyokuro Suigyoku from O-Cha
B: Ippodo Tokusen Gyokuro
C: Sinensis Yokkaichi Gyokuro
Dry leaf:
A: Leaf is more broken up, and the green less intense, but has been sealed in a jar under vacuum in the refrigerator for a couple of months, and a week plus just sealed in an airtight but not sealed container; scent is the lightest and most floral smelling but still deeply vegetal
B: Deep umami, vegetal, sea, less floral than A
C: Deep umami, vegetal, sea, less floral than A
1st infusion, 150 degrees, 90 seconds
A: strongest scent right away, likely because of smaller leaf, strong floral notes; rich umami and vegetal flavors
B: As with scent of leaf, less floral, deep umami scent during infusion, but a litle more similar in the liquor taste, rich umami
C: Deep umami, less rich scent than B; similar flavor, can't really distinguish yet from B
2nd infusion, again between 145 and 150 degrees, 45 seconds
A: Lighter than B in texture and flavor; slightly less umami, but vegetal notes stronger; floral not coming out
B: Deep umami, rich, deep, vegetal, cooked peas and green beans with a hint of grass
C: Hint astringency vs sample B, but not truly astringent; still warm, vegetal umami, cooked peas and green beans with a hint of grass
3rd infusion, 165 degrees (pot overshot goal of 160 a bit), 90 seconds
A: Here are the floral notes coming now, less umami and a little more floral
B: Umami lightening a little bit, still richly vegetal, more green beans than peas
C: Umami lightening a little bit, still richly vegetal, more green beans than peas
4th infusion, 176 degrees, 60 seconds (backing off on time because I do like it lighter)
A: Drunk as several sips by itself, this is lovely, floral notes opening up again with the hotter/shorter infusion, but head-to-head, sip-to-sip, B has more of the floral notes
B: This one is building floral and fruity notes on lightening vegetal base; I definitely prefer this one right now
C: Also a little lighter, really lovely, but preference goes to B because of the floral notes stronger there
5th infusion, 180 degrees, 75 seconds
A: Floral plus vegetal: not rose-sweet, but more subtle and delicate notes rounding and lightening the vegetal notes; it's more snowpeas barely cooked, perhaps with a hint of carrot or parsnip sweetness, than english peas
B: Again, this one is keeping a bit more floral character than sample C, but maybe a little less sweet than A
C: I keep defining this one by it's difference from B, still not quite as floral and a touch deeper cooked pea note than sample B
6th infusion, 190 degrees, about a minute, stopped keeping such close track
A: Very delicate now, still floral and lovely
B: Seems quite similar to sample A, delicate, lighter, floral
C: Similar to A & B, a fading to sweetwater, floral, delicious
7th infusion, 205 degrees, 3 minutes
Just enjoyed all samples
And after that, I had to leave, so I put the remaining mostly quite spent leaves in a bottle of water, refrigerated it, and enjoyed it as subtle “sparkling gyokuro” the following day.