Tea Knowledge & Friendship
Thanks. I'd looked at those cups before but not realize that they were larger than the usual tiny guinomi size.
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.faj wrote: ↑Mon Jul 06, 2020 4:31 pmI 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.
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.Bok wrote: ↑Tue Jul 07, 2020 2:36 amIn 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.faj wrote: ↑Mon Jul 06, 2020 4:31 pmI 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.
Even Japanese teas – if non-blended and made of non-cross-bred Japanese cultivars, can be surprisingly tolerant to higher water temperatures.
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.debunix wrote: ↑Tue Jul 07, 2020 12:23 amThe 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.
Yes, it's the Tokusen Gyokuro from Ippodo, gorgeous stuff.
So happy after reading this that I’m participating in the group buy this year.debunix wrote: ↑Tue Jul 07, 2020 10:37 amYes, 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.
@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 meShine Magical wrote: ↑Fri Jul 17, 2020 9:31 pmThat pot is looking shiny and beautiful, I'm glad those teas went to a good home.
Green candy... yes, they were kind of sweet from what I remember.
.
