What Green Are You Drinking

[debunix]

Matcha! this week has been a revelation, because I finally learned how to make a matcha that I enjoy. My long-neglected chawans have finally found their intended use, and they are working beautifully.





This was the first matcha I bought at Nijo Castle from a Fukujuen booth.....as close as I got to shopping in their flagship store, sigh.



All set



Petr Novak's shino chawan, from the TeaChat special offer firing, with matcha at last:



If it weren't for a bit of nagging guilt that this glorious bowl had never met it's intended tea, I might not have pursued my matcha adventure. Thank you, Petr, for the gift of matcha enjoyment!

Good to the last drop



More to come in part II

And even more photos than anyone could want to see in the whole Flickr set here

[debunix]

Buckwheat reflections



The Flower of Forgetfulness, a snowflake glaze chawan from Petr Novak, gets its turn



Still good to the last drop



And here is Shawn McGuire's secret shino porcelain chawan being baptized with matcha



It makes a lovely backdrop to the final drop





And here is Ericka O'Rourke's chawan getting a turn

[debunix]

And after a few days' matcha fest, today drank another of the teas my Tokyo-based friend bought for me at a Tea tasting event before my recent trip to Kyoto. Per my google translate app on the phone, it seems to be from Suzuki Tea Garden, is 'Incense Tea' (?!) and it says Kawane and 'Moe' as a single red character. The back label shows www.kawanecha. ecnet.jp, which appears to be a web site for an tea farm that uses less chemical sprays but does not claim organic status.

The tea is deep dark green, nearly black, with medium sized curly leaves plus many small broken bits. It has a lush vegetal scent, and is just as rich tasting when brewed up. I think I should have been bolder with the quantity and at next opportunity, will do a tasting more carefully; this one justifies the time. It stayed delicious through higher temperature to 4-5 infusions before I gave up.

[Janice]

My kitchen reno is almost complete. Yesterday I was able to unpack my teaware and arrange it in two glass fronted cabinets. I’m excited to be able to use teaware that’s been stored since August so I’m using my smallest pots. Smaller pots = more sessions.

I’m beginning my tea day with An Ji Bai Cha from Jing, brewed in this beautiful small (40ml) gaiwan set from Shawn McGwire.

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[debunix]

That sounds so good that I'm going to get out my packet of An Ji Bai Cha from Jing, after this last infusion of Milk Oolong from Birdpick. It will be lovely in the little Yi Yong Cheol pot.

[debunix]

Another day, another chawan to introduce to matcha: today, Petr Novak's feldspar-glazed summer chawan.

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A moment before I took this one of the cats came over for a sniff of the matcha. He backed away and then ran off sneezing. Matcha: not snuff!

So green!

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And I love the delicate green shadings at the end.

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Now with some questions about matcha prep and care of equipment: does this belong in another topic?

[CWarren]

Now with some questions about matcha prep and care of equipment: does this belong in another topic?

Maybe need a “Today’s MatchaWan” topic like we had on TC.

[Victoria]

Now with some questions about matcha prep and care of equipment: does this belong in another topic?

Maybe need a “Today’s MatchaWan” topic like we had on TC.

Yeah, you can start that new thread or just keep posting here under what green are you drinking.

[Victoria]

Our LA Tea Club had an amazing session with Ippodo’s Kyoto main store Exclusive Special Gyokuro that Pedant was able to get for me on his last trip to Japan. Wow, seaside umami sweet richness. The leaves are stunning a work of art, shinny deep dark emerald needles. True to Ippodo’s other Gyokuros this one is also steeped 10gr/80ml/140f/90sec. pure richness. I’ll try and take pictures next time. Thank you Pedant for sharing this with me

[Victoria]

A friend gifted me Iribancha, an everyday high roasted tea from Kyoto. It has a very smokey aroma and flavor in a pleasant way though, maybe even a few notes of fermentation. Today when I went outside I kind of smelled something similar as fires are ragging here in Southern California with lots of soot and smoke in the air. The leaves are taken from the lower portion of the plant and include stems. Between the aroma of the tea and the fires outside, I feel surrounded by a bonfire at a camp site.

[Janice]

I ended my day with Dens Tea Genmaicha Satsuki. This shib and cup are from Shawn McGwire at Great Wheel Studio. I call this my calligraphy shib because of the pattern that the glaze formed. It’s 175 ml and the only teas I drink in that quantity are genmaicha and houjica, both of which brew up excellently in this unglazed pot.

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[Noonie]

While I usually order Sencha from one of several tea vendors in Japan, I placed an order recently with camellia-sinensis.com here in Canada. I was pleasantly surprised by the unique flavours of the two teas: Sencha Ashikubo and Sencha Nagashima Organic. I brewed the same parameters as usual, but cut brewing time in 1/2 (45s first brew). Very rich flavour, and being in canada with free shipping it was a no-brainer.

[teafarer]

Had my first Gyokuro tonight and wow this is a whole different world than any other teas I've had before. Such a different color, flavor, and all-around experience.

The scent was a bit off-putting at first, but it grew on me. I instantly liked the flavor. "Liquid Seaweed Broth" is my three-word review, haha.

[Bok]

Mystery gifted Baozhong. No ideas of origin or anything else. But – I let it sit for what was probably too long and the resulting brew was bitter, but not displeasant! And a very powerful aftertaste which did not come out in standard brewing. Water was hotter as what is normally suggested for green teas. Tells me this tea is of very good quality and can take a hit without being overbrewed.

[Elise]

Drinking now delicious Taishō sencha from Hiruma-en, Saitama.

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