Nishide Tea Factory
Uji Gyokuro Tea G20 (must be the year indicator or something… was too lazy to make a new page)
5.8g, 200mL kyusu
I’ve had this since March, but just haven’t had time to get to it since this is just not what I would generally reach for when I’ve got extra time to focus on brewing + making notes and not just casual drinking. In the meantime, I stuck it in the freezer since apparently Japanese greens don’t take to regular storage too well (maybe hearsay?), so I’m not sure if that affected anything.
dry leaves is both dried seafood umami and dried cranberry/fruity like note
I roughly followed Yunomi’s instructions on the packet, but I think the 60 ml first steep was a typo, so I did all my steep w 200 mL. Accidentally did 30s 2nd steep instead of 15s, and I should also note that my kyusu is not the fastest pourer.
in a prewarmed kyusu, leaves emit a smell like oyster or clam. Surprisingly, in the wet leaves, that is tampered down quite a bit, although retains similar character overall.
122f, 2 min: taste upfront is deeply umami, with a sort of thickened texture. aftertaste is umami with maybe something salty lurking along with a grassy taste.
176f, 30s: a hint of astringency along with a hint of sweet. unmistakably umami still, but sweeter. hint of grass in aftertaste.
196f, 50s: a touch of astringent, with muted flavors similar to before.
212f, 1 min (not Yunomi advised, just wanted to see what would happen when pressed for an extra last steep): something with a touch of bitter, overall nondescript and not quite worth mentioning.
Not a bad tea by any means, but my own preferences lean against overly umami notes. I do wonder if my freezer storage of this tea affected the sweetness, since the other 2 reviews seem to have gotten more out of this.
Flavors: Grass, Salt, Sweet, Umami
