I recently did a tea swap with kim and the Japanese blacks and this white had caught my eye. I’ve only ever really had green tea from Japan before. From the selection of teas from the swap to try, I picked this one, because I was not in the mood for a pu erh or a black, and some I wanted to use a gaiwan for, but I was not in the mood for a session. As it has been a decently warm day, I also wanted something lighter. So, I picked this. I may do the rooibos one later, but I have to get 2 cups of my medicinal herbal tea in as well.
So I went to the website to grab some steeping parameters, because I am totally unfamiliar with Japanese whites. The directions said to use 1-1.5 tsp per 8 oz/200 ml with 190F/85C water and steep 3-4 minutes. I was using a 10oz cup, and my sample was about 2 tsp, so I opted to use the whole lot. I steeped 3 minutes because I thought I might have used too much leaf, but then thought I could add water if it was still too strong with the 3 minute steep.
The tea brewed up darker than I was expecting, which might be the amount of leaf used, but might also be this tea, as I don’t think I really overdid it with the leafing. One of the other tasting notes says that this tea is almost like a darjeeling, and I can agree. I almost feel like it is a mix of a darker oolong and a white, because it does still have a hay type of taste, but it is heavier and a bit more bodied than a normal white (possibly closer to a white pu erh). Despite the word heavy, the tea feels a bit delicate at the same time. This tea is not bitter or astringent, and it is smooth. It is like a contrast of tastes, almost.
I’ll probably try to get one more steep out of the leaves and see how that is. This is a very pleasant tea to drink…it is very easy to drink, and I am grateful for the chance to try such a rare tea.
