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.

A photo of my Bujo where I wrote down the above notes, in a more ...chaotic... way.

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