Mystery Green Tea, January 5 2023

Given to me by Shiho-san from Cha Do Raku to taste-test.

Before infusion:

• Smells like a mixture between [[ hojicha ]] and matcha — toasted and marine
• I understand, when smelling the hojicha-like toastyness, why 95 Celsius was recommended, but based on the colour of the tea itself (very green, some sticks), I decided to go with somewhere between 85 and 90 Celsius
• I did not have a full tea spoon — maybe 2 or 3 grammes, so I tried to use a very small amount of water.

First infusion: 85 Celsius, 2 minutes

• Taste was very different from the smell when dry;
• The tea smells vegetal, herbaceous, with hints of hay and squash; I was expecting stronger umami/marine notes from the smell of the dry tea so that was surprising!
• A subtle bitter sharpness was definitely present in the first infusion (I am very sensitive to bitter) which also surprised me
• I did find it reminiscent of karigane [[ kukicha ]], but more complex

After the first infusion:

• The wet leaves had a very pronounced vegetable smell; very pleasant.

Second infusion: 90 Celsius, 2 minutes

• I found the second infusion very interesting.
• Very soft, reminded me almost of [[ oolong ]], there was less discordance between taste and perfume;
• Stronger squash and legume notes;
• Hint of umami; very pleasant;
• No bitterness;
• I really liked it.