What Green Are You Drinking

Non-oxidized tea
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debunix
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Tue Jul 07, 2020 12:23 am

Victoria wrote:
Mon Jul 06, 2020 4:17 pm
debunix wrote:
Mon Jul 06, 2020 10:13 am
Ippodo gyokuro infused in my lefty Shimizu Ken kyusu & being used to baptize a new Tenmoku wan by Hashimoto Daisuke via Artistic Nippon.
Image
Beautiful Tenmoku. Which Ippodo gyokuro were you sipping?
Thanks. I'd looked at those cups before but not realize that they were larger than the usual tiny guinomi size.

The Ippodo was the special order tea that has been sitting vacuum sealed in the refrigerator for several months while I worked through another of the special gyokuros and a routine gyokuro from O-Cha that I opened one day because I had run out of sencha and all the other sencha/gyokuro was refrigerated and needed a day to come to temp before opening and infusing.
Rui
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Tue Jul 07, 2020 2:22 am

Nosso Cha Bio from Cha Camelia from Porto, Portugal. I am quite impressed with this fresh green tea with a great aroma and smooth sweet taste. :D
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Bok
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Tue Jul 07, 2020 2:36 am

faj wrote:
Mon Jul 06, 2020 4:31 pm
I would say my "default" would probably be around 75C to 80C (~175F), 4g in something a bit below 100ml, for 30 seconds or less for the first infusion. I have dabbled a bit with continuous infusion, but cannot say I was entirely pleased with the results. Now, most of my Chinese green tea drinking was at the beginning of my loose leaf tea journey, and Chinese green teas not being discussed much on the forum, it is a bit hard for me to tell what would be considered typical brewing parameters.
In general, Chinese green teas are by far not as delicate as Japanese, in what concerns temperature. A little below boiling is largely sufficient in my experience.

Even Japanese teas – if non-blended and made of non-cross-bred Japanese cultivars, can be surprisingly tolerant to higher water temperatures.
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Victoria
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Tue Jul 07, 2020 3:51 am

Bok wrote:
Tue Jul 07, 2020 2:36 am
faj wrote:
Mon Jul 06, 2020 4:31 pm
I would say my "default" would probably be around 75C to 80C (~175F), 4g in something a bit below 100ml, for 30 seconds or less for the first infusion. I have dabbled a bit with continuous infusion, but cannot say I was entirely pleased with the results. Now, most of my Chinese green tea drinking was at the beginning of my loose leaf tea journey, and Chinese green teas not being discussed much on the forum, it is a bit hard for me to tell what would be considered typical brewing parameters.
In general, Chinese green teas are by far not as delicate as Japanese, in what concerns temperature. A little below boiling is largely sufficient in my experience.

Even Japanese teas – if non-blended and made of non-cross-bred Japanese cultivars, can be surprisingly tolerant to higher water temperatures.
Although some may enjoy higher temperatures with Chinese greens, and many fewer with Japanese greens, there is a sliding scale along which ones taste will find a degree that works best for each individual preference; more temperature less time, less temperature more time. While higher temperatures extract more upfront quickly, lower temperatures with more steeping time can bring out aromatic, complex flavor layering that may be missed with hotter quicker steeps. Also, I have not enjoyed Japanese greens at higher temperatures, single origin or blended, delicate nuances in aroma and flavor get lost for me. The important thing is that one finds a way to enjoy and actually like the tea they are drinking.
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Victoria
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Tue Jul 07, 2020 4:02 am

debunix wrote:
Tue Jul 07, 2020 12:23 am
The Ippodo was the special order tea that has been sitting vacuum sealed in the refrigerator for several months while I worked through another of the special gyokuros and a routine gyokuro from O-Cha that I opened one day because I had run out of sencha and all the other sencha/gyokuro was refrigerated and needed a day to come to temp before opening and infusing.
By special order you mean last years Tokusen Gyokuro from Ippodo that we had for our inagural tasting? I’m thinking, if so them maybe you vaccum sealed some? Curious if flavor profile has evolved over time. These days I’m enjoying a 2013 Shincha from Kaburagien that was vacuum sealed and is still surprisingly very good, like sweet corn and aromatic hay. The bright fresh cut Shincha green has mellowed out a lot.
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debunix
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Tue Jul 07, 2020 10:37 am

Victoria wrote:
Tue Jul 07, 2020 4:02 am
By special order you mean last years Tokusen Gyokuro from Ippodo that we had for our inagural tasting? I’m thinking, if so them maybe you vaccum sealed some? Curious if flavor profile has evolved over time.
Yes, it's the Tokusen Gyokuro from Ippodo, gorgeous stuff.

It's hard to say if how much the flavor profile has changed, because it's still lovely and deep and floral; but I'm drinking it solo so I only have one open at a time, and I can't use a comparison to bring out those subtle differences vs the other fine gyokuros. But I don't feel like it has changed much. Deep, vegetal, umami, floral, layers of beautiful flavor varying infusion by infusion and sip by sip.
Janice
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Tue Jul 07, 2020 4:26 pm

debunix wrote:
Tue Jul 07, 2020 10:37 am
Victoria wrote:
Tue Jul 07, 2020 4:02 am
By special order you mean last years Tokusen Gyokuro from Ippodo that we had for our inagural tasting? I’m thinking, if so them maybe you vaccum sealed some? Curious if flavor profile has evolved over time.
Yes, it's the Tokusen Gyokuro from Ippodo, gorgeous stuff.

It's hard to say if how much the flavor profile has changed, because it's still lovely and deep and floral; but I'm drinking it solo so I only have one open at a time, and I can't use a comparison to bring out those subtle differences vs the other fine gyokuros. But I don't feel like it has changed much. Deep, vegetal, umami, floral, layers of beautiful flavor varying infusion by infusion and sip by sip.
So happy after reading this that I’m participating in the group buy this year.
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debunix
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Wed Jul 08, 2020 11:33 am

Another morning with the Tokusen gyokuro....

200708 Morning tea DSCF0270.jpg
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Victoria
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Fri Jul 10, 2020 9:44 pm

@debunix your image captures the thick rich liquor nicely. I’m so looking forward to trying this years Tokusen Gyokuro when it arrives.

Just finished O-cha’s Tsuen Uji Gyokuro Yume no Ukihashi, using O-cha’s glazed shibo instead of Jozan shigaraki, and slightly more water, has made a favorable difference. I like it much more now, it’s not as overpowering umami fruity sweet. This gyokuro has rich umami notes and also an unusually fruity almost green candy (?) like profile, hard to pinpoint exactly what I’m tasting. Somehow I was using too much leaf for half the pack, oh well. Steeping now at 6g/90ml/135f/2min in pre-heated O-cha glazed 150ml Shiboridashi. Just noticed vendor rec is much less leaf/water ratio, guess over the years trying this gyokuro I kept adding more leaf, interesting. He recommends 1.2g/1oz (30ml)/140f/2min, I ended up using 2g/1oz/135f/2min.
Dua342
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Mon Jul 13, 2020 5:31 am

Bi Luo Chun — or “Spring Green Snail.” This is my favourite type of Chinese green tea. The leaves are plucked in early spring and the result is a tender, sweet taste. Compared to more “vegetable” or “grassy” green teas, I find Bi Luo Chun extremely light and pleasant. There’s no bitter aftertaste — just pure, sweet bliss!
Last edited by Dua342 on Fri Jul 17, 2020 11:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Teafighter
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Tue Jul 14, 2020 12:34 pm

Genmaicha with matcha is always my favourite tea. I drink it daily and I feel like I couldn't survive without it. Recently, I'm drinking Organic Genmaicha with Matcha from Kosyuen. I love its nutty and astringent flavour and the taste still outstanding after brewing the tea for a few times.
Rui
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Thu Jul 16, 2020 7:04 am

Sipping some tea from the Mao Jian No. 2 tea sample sent to W2T tea club subscribers. :D
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Victoria
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Fri Jul 17, 2020 8:06 pm

I've been trying to figure out how to describe a certain gyokuro flavor I've tasted from both Maiko and O-cha's higher end Uji gyokuro lately. @Shine Magical kindly shared with me three samples from Maiko's Yamshita Gyokuro sample set. I didn’t do a side by side, but they all have what I can best describe so far as a sweet umami 'green fruit candy‘ (?) complex flavor range, as well as lingering aftertaste and salivation. So far I've tried;

Maiko, the two lower valued samples;
D: Yamashita Shuppin Gyokuro which is a blend of select handpicked crops exhibited at the National Tea Exhibition.
E. Yamshita -Jirushi, the most affordable of high end Yamashita sample set.
I decided to steep these using more leaf and cooler water after a conversation with @davidmarkglass; 8g/ 60ml (just enough to cover leaves plus a bit more)/ 108f/ 2min. in Jozan III 80ml shigiraki kyusu. Rich yet subtle umami, thick and sweet with some kind of sweet umami 'green candy’ complexity. Rich aftertaste and salivation.

O-cha’s Tsuen Uji Gyokuro Yume no Ukihashi, is a blend of handpicked Gokou and Yabukita cultivars from Uji.
I've posted about this gyokuro few times here. Like Maiko's Yamshita gyokuro, it is also has rich yet subtle umami, thick with a vegetal profile, and has this hard to describe sweet green umami 'green fruity candy’ complex layered profile. 6g/ 90ml/ 135f/ 2min in O-Cha glazed 150ml Shiboridashi. Rich aftertaste and salivation.

Maiko Yamashita Shuppin Gyokuro w Yamada Jozan III - Noritake_DSC1530_sm.jpg
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O-cha Tsuen Uji Gyokuro Yume no Ukihashi w Noritake_DSC1516_sm.jpg
O-cha Tsuen Uji Gyokuro Yume no Ukihashi w Noritake_DSC1516_sm.jpg (477.63 KiB) Viewed 5480 times
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d.manuk
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Fri Jul 17, 2020 9:31 pm

That pot is looking shiny and beautiful, I'm glad those teas went to a good home. :D
Green candy... yes, they were kind of sweet from what I remember.
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Victoria
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Fri Jul 17, 2020 9:37 pm

Shine Magical wrote:
Fri Jul 17, 2020 9:31 pm
That pot is looking shiny and beautiful, I'm glad those teas went to a good home. :D
Green candy... yes, they were kind of sweet from what I remember.
@Shine Magical Have you tried O-cha’s highest grade Tsuen Uji Gyokuro Yume no Ukihashi? I’ve been getting it for a few years, for some reason this year it tasted similar to Maiko’s Yamashita to me. Thank you for sharing Maiko’s gyokuro with me 🌞🍃.
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