Sipdown of the 2023 version. I definitely used too much leaf! I thought I had an awkward amount left and was just using up the last of it. Actually I mis-estimated and had fully enough for two separate brews. Honestly it came out quite good though. What I really wanted was gyokuro, but this was on top in the drawer and I didn’t feel like digging around for the gyokuro. Doubling the leaf on this sencha gave me a pretty gyokuro-like result anyway! The first steep has a thick, smooth, almost syrupy, mouthfeel. The flavor reminds me of miso soup – savory, vegetal, a bit mushroom-y, and a touch marine. The second steep came out even more flavorful with a stronger marine note. By the time I finished the second steep, my heart was racing the way it does when I’ve had too much caffeine too fast. I don’t know whether this is formally a high-caffeine tea but it’s definitely high caffeine for me!
I decided to cold brew the final steep. I’m on the fence about how it came out. I steeped it in the fridge for 24 hours but it still came out much more watery than the first two steeps. As it came closer to room temperature, the flavor opened up a bit more and I got a pleasant vegetal, salty flavor. Even the mouthfeel seemed thicker when it was not as cold. So the cold steep technically worked, but the end result was likely the same as if I had done a hot brew and allowed it to cool to room temp.
Have been working my way through some samples from Chiyonoen’s shincha from this year and I like their stuff for sure! Yunomi has some great farms that they pair with.