Japan Kabusecha

I have a new teapot. If you find your way to my facebook, there’s a picture. We went to the Houston Japanese American Festival in Hermann Park where I met a well preserved octogenarian who makes pottery. Included in her collection of wares was a delightfully quaint half liter tea pot, glazed a white satin finish with a new leaf green wash. It has actual wabi sabi, as opposed to carefully calculated flaws you find in some mass produced work. The handle is high, and fully integrated. Most important of all, it has a wide, open top with a snug lid. No more rummaging about to fish wet tea leaves out of narrow pot tops. No more balancing plates on top of Pyrex™ measuring cups.

This green tea is perfect for today. I got to watch most of a matcha-do ceremony demonstration in the tea house in the Japanese garden in Hermann Park during the festival. It made me crave shaded green. The weather is off again on again sun and rain, but warm when the sun is out. The live oaks have put out all their new growth and are a shockingly bright shade of green, kind of like what’s in my cup. We had brunch in an absurdly upscale bistro garden where I ate some of the best poached eggs over spinach and potatoes I have ever had in my life.

We just wish the rain would blow over so we could go out and test drive Liz’s new bicycle.

Quite a delicious tea! I could easily brew a pot and drink on it for hours at a time!

Color: Yellowish bright green (Chartreuse, leaning more towards yellow). Aroma: Very light, grassy with light vegetal qualities. Taste: Flavors which cary over from the aroma, sweet grass and vegetation with a background of honeydew melon . A rich creamy mouthfeel, finishing with a very long lasting (over 15 minutes) sweetness and wonderful medium+ / high- astringency that is almost mildly numbing. A brief 2nd steep offered a very light taste and a loss of some of the astringency that was enjoyable, but not nearly as focused as the first steep. Mental/Physical Effects: Very clearing and focused, with a very warming pulsing and relaxing alertness with clear Cha Zui after 12oz+. In a word, this tea makes you ‘high’ in an almost drug-like way. This effect is muted highly in 2nd steep. Notes: Following the 3g / 8oz / 2:00 method created a very mild cup… almost watery. This is because of the “shaded” style and it is supposed to be this light, or if possible the tea is a little older and has lost some of its punch. The color was also leaning more towards yellow than green and this may also be due to age. To correct this, I allowed the tea to steep a little longer and this seemed to bring out more aroma and taste… however, it pushed the astringency levels higher, so I only used my first and second 4oz cup as a measure for my tasting notes.

This tea is a bit less astringent as their Sencha. Quite nice, although I expected a bit more.
The color is light green with a hint of yellow, flavor is nice but not as complex as a Gyokuro or a good Sencha. I’ll try later with different temperatures.