Kabusecha

“Roasted seaweed” is the best description I can come up with for how this tea tastes. A little bit grassy, a little bit salty, and just a hint of smoke. The leaf is also very finely shredded, escaping through the holes of my infuser and leaving behind a thick layer of residue in the bottom of my cup. This was an interesting tea to sample, but probably not something I would ever re-purchase.

I had this at the tea tasting on Tuesday and it left quite the impression on me. I didnt take any notes on it other than “very good, fresh, *”, but I remember being impressed about how clear and green it tasted without being grassy. Also there really wasn’t a hint of astringentcy in my cup. I keep regretting not picking up 2 oz of it, but I’m currently on a tea buying hiatus until I can sip down some of what I have…and errr…get a job.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Kabusecha it is similar a Gyokuro, as it is a green tea that is shaded, the difference is a Kabusecha s shaded for the final fifteen to twenty days before being harvested. So it is somewhere between a Shincha and a Gyokuro.

Teasource’s Kabusecha is very shredded, Kabusecha traditionally is shredded, and slightly curled differentiating the larger leaves from the traditional Shincha dry leaf. Yet the dry leaf is very reminiscent of a gyokuro, perhaps a little more tart smelling. With this tea I brewed two western style infusions and once more to make iced tea.

For my first infusion I brewed at 160°f for two minutes. The liquor was silky smooth body, with a light green color. It had a mellow vegetal notes and slight grassiness undertone. Interestingly it had both a unami and a sweet edge to it. It had a very sweet grassy aroma that was quite refreshing.

For my second infusion I brewed at 176°f for three minutes. This time the body was still smooth, but had a considerable darker green color. This time the grassy taste was almost completely absent, instead the vegetal taste became more pronounced, while it still was sweet, it was more like caramel then anything else. The aroma was muted this time.

I used the leaves and flash chilled them to make a really delicious iced tea. I left it in the fridge for a little under eight hours. The tea was the best of the previous two infusions, grassy yet tart, sweet and unami. It was sweeter than an iced sencha, but less grassy. It had a very sweet aftertaste.

When I first saw this tea, I was expecting it to be more lightly steamed then it is (while it is not a moderately steamed Kabusecha, it is not light either). Also for those unfamiliar with shredded tea, some leaf sediments is going to escape even the finest filter, so be prepared for some sticky leaves at the bottom of your cup, while some do not like the texture of drinking leaves, I do not, so this was not a deal breaker for me. Teasource’s Kabusecha undoubtedly is going to be a staple of my tea stash! I am positively in love with this.