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“My first shincha of 2017. This tea promises a unique flavor that’s rich in orchid florals. The orchid flavor makes a brief appearance but is muddled with persistent bitterness which reminded me...” Read full tasting note
Utilizes a rare cultivar called Inzatsu #131, born from the Indian Assam Manipuri #5 cultivar and an unknown father. The resulting cultivar is rich in floral aroma, hence the name “Ranryu” which translates to “Orchid Dragon”.
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Tarui Family: Organic Sencha Ranryu, The Orchid Dragon
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YunomiMy first shincha of 2017. This tea promises a unique flavor that’s rich in orchid florals. The orchid flavor makes a brief appearance but is muddled with persistent bitterness which reminded me of sheng puerh.
I steeped 2g of leaf in a 120ml teapot.
Leaf appearance: dark, broken leaves that turn an unappealing yellow after steeping. barely any aroma.
First steep: 60s @ 160 F. Light bodied, pale yellowish liquor. it has some gyokuro umami and melon like fruitiness.
Second steep: 20s @ 170 F. A nice hint of sweet orchid clashing with the tea’s astringency.
Third steep: 85s @ 170 F. Sharply astringent
At $8 for 10g, this was the most expensive sencha I’ve ever tried and not worth it when a quality gyokuro can be had for half the price.
Flavors: Astringent, Orchid
Sometimes you need to go really short on the second and third steeps. I’ve gone as short as 2 seconds sometimes. Maybe that might help with the astringency.
Interesting, I never thought to flash steep Japanese tea but it makes sense. I’ve got another Yunomi sample of kabusecha that I might experiment with.
I agree Yunomi’s teas can be really pricy without a discount. I think O-Cha and Yuuki-Cha are more consistent in price and quality.
I only do the flash steeping after the leaves wake up on the first steeping. I find some of the Japanese teas are tooooo intense after the first steeping.
tanluwils – I went with Yuuki-Cha this spring instead of Yunomi (which I’ve used the last 3 years). I like all the sample sizes offered by Yunomi (Yukki-Cha doesn’t have that) but it was hard finding one I really like. I do have my favourites I order them though and they are consistent.
Haha, I did the opposite – ordered my shincha from Yunomi this year instead of Yuuki-Cha as I usually do. Mainly to sample different teas. Yuuki-Cha is good but 100g can be too much tea to commit it. I wish more Japanese vendors offered sample sizes of tea.