What Green Are You Drinking

[Bok]

I think this is a common misconception that people approach green tea from China with a Sencha mindset... when they often can take heat very well. The rest are personal preferences, which for some still might warrant lower water temperature.

[faj]

I think this is a common misconception that people approach green tea from China with a Sencha mindset... when they often can take heat very well. The rest are personal preferences, which for some still might warrant lower water temperature.

I started with Chinese green teas first, and back then the recommendations I found (e.g. vendor's websites) were, I think, typically 80C, maybe 85C at most. I only started drinking sencha later on, so I was not directly influenced that way. Were these recommendations themselves guided by a sencha-like approach? Maybe. I really do not know what the "consensus" temperature for these teas is, or if there even is one. Better tea tends to be more forgiving, so it would make sense that a high temperature would be a better fit for higher quality tea. I lack reliable references (i.e. trying stuff considered to be good by knowledgeable people at various temperatures) to really tell whether the quality of the tea is a factor, or whether I should stay away from Chinese green teas for lack of the ability to enjoy them infused the way they should be .

I will keep this in mind in the future and try brewing hotter with less leaf as per @LeoFox's suggestion.

[Victoria]

Sipping on Tsuen‘s Uji Gyokuro Fujitsubo, a blend of Saemidori and Yabukita. Very elegant, full of umami and brothy steeped in porous shigaraki clay shiboridashi by Tani Seiuemon. 7gr/140ml/140F/2.30min. Steeped correctly this high quality gyokuro really shines.

[mbanu]

I think this is a common misconception that people approach green tea from China with a Sencha mindset... when they often can take heat very well. The rest are personal preferences, which for some still might warrant lower water temperature.

I started with Chinese green teas first, and back then the recommendations I found (e.g. vendor's websites) were, I think, typically 80C, maybe 85C at most. I only started drinking sencha later on, so I was not directly influenced that way. Were these recommendations themselves guided by a sencha-like approach? Maybe. I really do not know what the "consensus" temperature for these teas is, or if there even is one. Better tea tends to be more forgiving, so it would make sense that a high temperature would be a better fit for higher quality tea. I lack reliable references (i.e. trying stuff considered to be good by knowledgeable people at various temperatures) to really tell whether the quality of the tea is a factor, or whether I should stay away from Chinese green teas for lack of the ability to enjoy them infused the way they should be .

I will keep this in mind in the future and try brewing hotter with less leaf as per @LeoFox's suggestion.

I think the original idea behind the advice was trying to adapt green tea to American and British teaware. I knew people who, seeing small Chinese teacups for the first time, assumed they were for hard liquor because that was their only experience with a 2-ounce cup. The espresso trend helped, as it gave people another frame of reference for small cups. Small teapots were children's toys. Typically a tea-drinker would be making tea in a teabag in their 12-ounce mug, or brewing it loose for company in a British-sized teapot that held a few pints. This wasn't always the case, obviously, as the U.S. was originally a green tea-drinking country, but by the time people became interested in green tea again during the postwar period, things had changed.

[Victoria]

Reached for a canister labeled Muzha in my cabinet thinking it had been a long while in there, opened it up, and found beautifully rolled kabusecha needles instead. Since I didn’t know which tea this was, to be safe and to avoid potential bitterness, I steeped cool at 7.5g/100ml/140f/2.30 min in Yohei Konishi 110ml mayake kyusu. To my surprise this was a lightly roasted kabusecha I’d requested as a special order few years ago from Kagoshima Seicha. A few years earlier I had a really excellent roasted sencha from them and wanted more, but unfortunately it wasn’t a tea they make very often, so I made a special order thinking if it was really good we could use it for a tasting at TeaForum. It wasn’t as great as the previous one I’d had, so I decided to re-roast some of the sample and let it rest in a canister a few weeks. Weeks turned into +-2 years. It tasted pretty good considering how much time had pasted, having a pleasant sweet nuttiness and astringency (as in dry mouth).

[debunix]

Happy find!

[klepto]

I had been so obsessed with Japanese greens I ignored Chinese greens. Got a presale box of Chinese greens from One River Tea. Tried their Golden Green (Baojing Green) and it was everything I want in a green tea. Sweet, no astringency, no seaweed or umami bomb. It was very reserved and easy to drink.

[LeoFox]

Starting my day with Hojo's tsukigase zairai. Brewed 3g/150 mL closer to Chinese greens at 30s and then fast infusions with 85 to 95 C water, the tea is floral, sweet and mineraly with an intense aftertaste like sweet herbs. This is less oily than from a previous order but seems more fresh and lively.

A final 1 min off boiling water infusion gives a savory and musky finale.

This is 6th infusion! Still thick and tasty

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I love how easy it is to brew. No need to check temperatures all the time and the hotter the better.


Ate the leaves at the end of course!

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[debunix]

Lovely rich Kabuse sencha from Obubu today. The Seiho Kyushu has come home after living at the office for years to take the daily sencha/gyokuro task on after the shocking injury to my Petr kyusu.

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Turns out its volume is perfect match to my baby Eiichi cup. Symphony of the senses: fruity sweet grassy tea, so green in leaf and taste and aroma and liquor; white and black cup; dark to light kyusu; veins of cup and serrated leaf silhouettes; morning birdsong through the window.

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[debunix]

Gushing Brook sencha from Obubu, enjoyed in a new Touju Yakishime houhin: spicy vegetal sencha, sweet and delicious, and what a delight in the new houhin.

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[LeoFox]

@debunix
Your hohin reminds me of certain old bronze vessels! Looks very powerful and serious! The tea looks really nice!

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This morning enjoying Hojo's jasmine pearls in my new bizen. Gave the first infusion to my wife.

Brewed 3 g/180 mL off-boiling water

1min30s/ 1min / 1min 30 / 2 min / 3min / 5 min / 10 min / steeped out.

The jasmine aromas are exhilarating and complex, shifting back and forth. There is a strong taste of strawberry jam balanced by the pot's minerality. The teasoup is thick and satisfying.

As steeps progress, the taste transitioned a bit to ripe, juicy cantaloupes. This combined with the minerality from the pot occasionally gave me the impression of eating very fresh melony raw oysters

[LeoFox]

@mbanu
https://www.spicejungle.com/young-hyson-green-tea

[faj]

As I tend to do in Spring each year, I am having Anji Bai Cha. I have only every bought it from a single vendor. This year's version is subtle, with a nice balance between sweetness and acidity, along with a measured dose of the expected aromas and a pleasant persistence. Nothing explosive, but nothing out of place. Infused with a small Tachi Masaki Banko back handle kyusu I own that could not hurt a green tea even if it tried its best to.

I really wish I could try this tea from other vendors, though I do not feel a need to fix something that ain't broke. It is not cheap, but not super expensive either (~0,50$/g), so I guess there may be versions/grades out there worth exploring.

@LeoFox, I'd be curious to know if you have a perspective on this : do you think that one too should be infused near boiling, or should I obstinately continue steeping it around 75C-85C?

[LeoFox]

As I tend to do in Spring each year, I am having Anji Bai Cha. I have only every bought it from a single vendor. This year's version is subtle, with a nice balance between sweetness and acidity, along with a measured dose of the expected aromas and a pleasant persistence. Nothing explosive, but nothing out of place. Infused with a small Tachi Masaki Banko back handle kyusu I own that could not hurt a green tea even if it tried its best to.

I really wish I could try this tea from other vendors, though I do not feel a need to fix something that ain't broke. It is not cheap, but not super expensive either (~0,50$/g), so I guess there may be versions/grades out there worth exploring.

LeoFox, I'd be curious to know if you have a perspective on this : do you think that one too should be infused near boiling, or should I obstinately continue steeping it around 75C-85C?

You do what works for you of course - but you may want to try challenging it at least one time with 2g/100 mL at off boiling for 30-60s in thin porcelain. 60s if you are confident in the quality.

[debunix]

I like to give An Ji Bai Cha a first flash rinse at 180 (82) then drop temp to 160 for the first proper infusion, and work my way up in temps from there.