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derk drank Japan Okinawa Okumidoricha Sencha Green Tea by What-Cha

1548 tasting notes

I don’t want to say how great this sencha is for my preferences knowing there are only 25g bags left at What-Cha, but oh, look what I have done.

What sets this apart from pretty much every sencha I’ve had (which truthfully isn’t a lot because it’s not a preferred type of tea) is a very smooth and colloidal body with an oily, coating mouthfeel. I was not expecting that! It has a light dried flowers-sweet grassy-corn husk-nutty flavor with a deeper, wheatgrassy-seaweedy nuance, something to anchor the taste within that body. A gentle cooling finish. First infusion can leave a little burst of peach in the aftertaste. The tea doesn’t taste bitter but a mellow bitterness eventually surfaces throughout the mouth. Now at the bottom of my second bowl, my tongue tingles with a pleasant salty-metallic excitement!

This evening, with my first preparation of this tea (btw, all but the few chopped stems sinks), I am getting a drying catch in the throat, so I’ll have to use less leaf next time. Regardless, this is quite interesting, hefty and soothing. Being from Okinawa, I guess this tea is out of the normal range of sencha offered by most western-facing vendors. Worth a try!

Summer 2020 harvest

Flavors: Bitter, Butter, Corn Husk, Drying, Floral, Metallic, Nutty, Oily, Peach, Salt, Seaweed, Smooth, Thick, Wheatgrass

Preparation

160 °F / 71 °C 3 g 10 OZ / 300 ML

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This place, like the rest of the internet, is dead and overrun with bots. And thus I step away.

Eventual tea farmer. If you are a tea grower, want to grow your own plants or are simply curious, please follow me so we can chat.

I most enjoy loose-leaf, unflavored teas and tisanes. Teabags have their place. Some of my favorite teas have a profound effect on mind and body rather than having a specific flavor profile. Terpene fiend.

Favorite teas generally come from China (all provinces), Taiwan, India (Nilgiri and Manipur). Frequently enjoyed though less sipped are teas from Georgia, Japan, Nepal and Darjeeling. While I’m not actively on the hunt, a goal of mine is to try tea from every country that makes it available to the North American market. This is to gain a vague understanding of how Camellia sinensis performs in different climates. I realize that borders are arbitrary and some countries are huge with many climates and tea-growing regions.

I’m convinced European countries make the best herbal teas.

Personal Rating Scale:

100-90: A tea I can lose myself into. Something about it makes me slow down and appreciate not only the tea but all of life or a moment in time. If it’s a bagged or herbal tea, it’s of standout quality in comparison to similar items.

89-80: Fits my profile well enough to buy again.

79-70: Not a preferred tea. I might buy more or try a different harvest. Would gladly have a cup if offered.

69-60: Not necessarily a bad tea but one that I won’t buy again. Would have a cup if offered.

59-1: Lacking several elements, strangely clunky, possess off flavors/aroma/texture or something about it makes me not want to finish.

Unrated: Haven’t made up my mind or some other reason. If it’s pu’er, I likely think it needs more age.

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