Kamairicha Issin from Nio Teas

Kamairicha Issin

Tea type
Green Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Asparagus, Butter, Drying, Earth, Grass, Hazelnut, Mineral, Nuts, Roasted, Spinach, Squash, Thick, Toasted Rice, Vegetal, Broth, Creamy, Grain, Kabocha, Smooth, Toasty, Umami, Vegetable Broth, Wheat
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Medium
Certification
Organic
Edit tea info Last updated by Cameron B.
Average preparation
160 °F / 71 °C 1 min, 0 sec 5 g 5 oz / 150 ml

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3 Tasting Notes View all

  • “Taking a break, for a moment, from the shiboridashi to switch back to the kyusu. This lovely-looking kabusecha needs it. The leaves are a mix of dusty and glossy and mostly curled and tightly...” Read full tasting note
    73
  • “This kamairicha is another first for me! I have a bit of experience with Chinese green teas, so it will be interesting to see how pan frying affects Japanese greens. I steeped 5 g of leaf in 150 ml...” Read full tasting note
    73
  • “Nio Teas Advent Calendar 2022 – Day 20 Ooh, something a bit different for day 20! I’m familiar with kamairicha, but I haven’t tried many of them. The leaves are pan-fried, similar to some Chinese...” Read full tasting note
    88

From Nio Teas

While most Japanese green teas are steamed, the Kamairicha Issin is actually turned in a hot pan, similar to a Chinese green tea. As a result, the flavor of this kamairicha green tea picks up a little bit of this roasted caramel or nuttiness. The tea is quite dense and creamy, making it a perfect tea for the wintertime. You get this slightly roasted flavor, but nowhere near as intense as a hojicha. If you normally prefer Chinese teas but want to venture into the exciting world of Japanese green tea, this is the best choice for you. If you are looking for something slightly different from the grassy sencha teas, this is also a good way to add a little variety to your tea collection.

This tea was grown in the mountains of Takachiho in Miyazaki prefecture. Although Kamairicha is a relatively rare tea, this region has become famous for it. The farm of Mr. Issin includes 4 small fields spread around the village, all of which are higher elevation. It was a great privilege to tour all of these fields and take in the picturesque views of this beautiful region.

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3 Tasting Notes

73
1290 tasting notes

Taking a break, for a moment, from the shiboridashi to switch back to the kyusu. This lovely-looking kabusecha needs it. The leaves are a mix of dusty and glossy and mostly curled and tightly twisted. Slightly tropical floral but mostly grassy steeping aroma. All of the leaves open nicely revealing a mix of olive green and basil green tones. A nice vegetal brew with grassy notes and some nutty undertones.
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73
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442 tasting notes

This kamairicha is another first for me! I have a bit of experience with Chinese green teas, so it will be interesting to see how pan frying affects Japanese greens. I steeped 5 g of leaf in 150 ml of 160F water for 60, 20, 20, 30, 40, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry aroma is of toasted rice, roasted nuts, and grass. Oof! The spinach and squash in the first steep are a surprise! I also get butter, asparagus, toasted rice, nuts, roast, and minerals. The next steep has a thicker body and is a bit drying, with more pronounced hazelnuts and butter and lots of veggies. Subsequent steeps have notes of asparagus, spinach, grass, roast, nuts, minerals, butter, and earth.

My nose expected a very different tea than my taste buds received. I enjoyed seeing how pan frying creates those buttery, nutty aromas, but it seems to be much better integrated into Chinese greens than Japanese ones, at least based on this small sample. I have to say I liked yesterday’s kukicha much better.

Get a 10% discount with the code LEAFHOPPER10OFF (I get a small commission when you use this code). Their Black Friday sale is massive and ends tomorrow.

Flavors: Asparagus, Butter, Drying, Earth, Grass, Hazelnut, Mineral, Nuts, Roasted, Spinach, Squash, Thick, Toasted Rice, Vegetal

Preparation
160 °F / 71 °C 1 min, 0 sec 5 g 5 OZ / 150 ML
4 comments
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LuckyMe
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Kamairicha reminds me a lot of Laoshan green tea. It’s got the umami of Japanese greens with the nuttiness of Chinese greens. I’ve had some good kamairicha and tamaryokucha from Yuuki-Cha.

Leafhopper
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I actually haven’t had Laoshan green tea, though Laoshan black tea is great! Are all kamairicha so vegetal? Most of these Japanese green teas have been very green, even more so than Chinese green teas.

LuckyMe
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I find Kamairicha to be warm and toasty. It’s vegetal but less intense than sencha. But you’re right, Japanese green tea is generally greener than Chinese green tea which is softer, nuttier, and has more subtle flavors. To me, kamairicha is like if these two teas got married and had a baby :-)

Leafhopper
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Sencha can definitely get pretty vegetal. I might try another kamairicha if I see one. I think Camellia Sinensis carries one from time to time.

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88
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4256 tasting notes

Nio Teas Advent Calendar 2022 – Day 20

Ooh, something a bit different for day 20! I’m familiar with kamairicha, but I haven’t tried many of them. The leaves are pan-fried, similar to some Chinese green teas, which is not normally part of the processing for a sencha. The little curly leaves are so cute!

Yum, it’s quite nice. I definitely get a little bit of the toastiness of the pan-frying, it adds such a nice warmth around the edges. Otherwise it’s quite vegetal, with somewhat intense squashy notes and a touch of the ubiquitous spinach. Very nutty as well, almost like a sobacha, and it has a thick and creamy texture that’s so restorative in this cold weather. It reminds me of drinking some kind of vegetable broth, but with the additional toasty grainy nutty flavors.

Really loving this cuppa tonight! I’ll have to look into trying more kamairicha in the future… :)

Flavors: Broth, Creamy, Grain, Kabocha, Roasted, Smooth, Spinach, Squash, Thick, Toasted Rice, Toasty, Umami, Vegetable Broth, Vegetal, Wheat

Preparation
160 °F / 71 °C 1 min, 0 sec 5 g 5 OZ / 150 ML
2 comments
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LuckyMe
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Kamairicha is so underrated!

Cameron B.
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It seems so! I’ll have to keep an eye out for them. :D

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