Yokota #01: Sayamacha Fukumidori

Lewis & Clark Traveling Teabox – Tea #28
Tea box winding down! It has been an experience! This green is one of those green teas that actually look like grass clippings. Sometimes sencha looks like flat leaves rather than grass. The taste is light and very buttery. Mostly butter. Very tasty.
Steep #1 // 32 min after boiling // 2 min

From the Lewis and Clark TTB.

Brewed with shudei kyusu. Steeping times: 1 min, 30 sec, 1 min.

The wet leaf aroma is savory: buttery and sweet with pumpkin and squash. A pleasure to smell in the late afternoon. The first infusion is clear and light on the tongue, yet full-bodied and flavorful. Reminiscent of the sweet seaweed-like quality of kukicha. A graceful infusion.

The second is thicker, more like soup broth. It retains the sweetness form the first infusion, though it also has squash notes. I botched the third infusion: it’s much thicker, darker in color (too dark), and bitter (although I can still taste the tea’s essence). I should have let the leaf steep for a shorter a time.

This is a lovely Japanese green. Too bad there aren’t more in this box.

Lewis & Clarke TTB

This isn’t going to be a very good note, as I drank this while playing Diablo III… Sorry! The leaves are thin and flat, and very dark green. Dry scent is fresh-cut grass. I did a 1 minute steep, as I generally do with sencha.

I must say, this tea is very tasty! I drank most of the cup stone cold, because I got distracted by the game (click click click!). The vegetal flavor is somewhat strong but not harsh or biting, and it’s quite sweet with a creamy texture. I actually found it interesting that I get a floral note from this tea, which is not something I have experienced with other sencha. Overall, quite good if you enjoy Japanese greens!