OK, I have to retract (a little) a previous statement I made.
Out of curiosity, I tried the steeping parameters that Maeda-en suggested for this tea. I was sure it was going to be bitter, but I did it anyway.
In my pre-warmed teapot, I put a rounded tsp of leaf. I then poured nearly boiling water (190F) over it (I was planning on doing 2 oz water, but instead didn’t quite even cover the leaf, so it was just around 1 oz water). I waited 30 seconds and then poured into the cup.
(Maeda-en’s suggestion is 190F for 30-40 seconds or so).
The result was nothing less than green tea nectar! Pure, intensely sweet, and fresh cooked asparagus. It really surprised me, especially how very sweet it was. I wished I had used all 2oz of water, just so I’d have had more tea!
So again, my retractment is, don’t necessarily ignore the brewing suggestions given! Try it out once. The very first time I had this tea, I ignored their suggestions thinking it would be bitter; but if you’re careful, this tea works at a big range of temperatures. :-)
