NaturaliTea #12: Japanese Black Tea Setoya Momiji

The black teas from Japan could be weird but the same weirdness can make them unique and appealing (to some people – as there is no worldwide clamoring for them unlike for blacks from China or India).

This tea is less unusual then many Japan blacks I have tried: a lot of malt, some saltiness and a hint of mint. There is also a presence of an alien kind of sweetness, reminiscent of artificial sweeteners. IMHO, the best use case for this tea is to work as a bracing breakfast drink for those who prefer to have salty and savory notes on the malty backbone rather than variations of sweetness.

P.S. The astringent malt REAAAALLY lingers after you long finished your cup.

I am so far behind in my sample tasting. This tea was with the Yunomi group buy and just getting around to trying it now. I brewed it gong fu with the first infusion pretty short (15sec) but am really enjoying it. It doesn’t have that heavy bold taste that some black teas do (that could be in part because of how I brewed it). It’s a bit sweet with a nice malty flavour and a fruity note. It’s weird, but I had a feeling this tea was going to be fruity before I brewed it up or even smelled it. This was my first black Japanese tea too.

i thought today would be a green day but as i was going through the yunomi box, found this one up next..just as well coz i found a chocolate to snack on :D

a quick first steep right after boiling, i could sense the maltiness. i like to try tea when it is not yet too strong. it is nice. second steep twice the time but middlish is not good..so im steeping for longer for a stronger flavour.

hm! i thought id left it too long as the tea had already sorta cooled but rather than bitterness, i get a slight sweetness, initially elusive but gently spreads out. maybe it’s just my inexperience but i dont get any cocoa notes on this one? still good tho. (bites on nestle crunch and sips..hm. i think this tea is better not paired with chocolate. or i just got the wrong chocolate, lol.

I think this is my first Japanese black tea, and I’m excited to try it.

The dry leaf is dark, small and twisty and there’s a fair bit of orange dust in the bag. It smells earthy, musty and fruity.

This didn’t come with any steeping directions, so I figured I’d try steeping a cup at 96C. I set a time for three minutes, but after two it was starting to taste pretty strong, so I pulled the leaf out after 2:30.

The liquor is very dark brown and smells amazing. Intensely malty and fruity. The flavour is malty, sweet and has notes of ripe stone fruits. Ever so faint traces of bitter and astringency, and a touch of mineral on the finish, which dissolves to bread and plums. A fairly thick mouth feel, that’s coating, but not drying.

A second steep for 4:30 minutes provides another lovely cup.

I don’t think I need this in my cupboard – it’s delicious but not that unique.