Tea Type: Green Tea
Where To Buy: Green Tea Lovers
Product Description:
Country of Origin: Japan
Region: Kagoshima Prefecture
Grade: Sencha
Altitude: 500 – 1500 ft. above sea level
Manuf. Type: Orthodox
Infusion: Tending green w/depth & body.
Ingredients: Premium green tea
Character: A distinctive rich vegetative taste.Contains very high antioxidant levels vs 5-6% for mass-market teas.
This Sencha replaces the original Oh-i-Ocha 1500. Its an early-April, first crop sencha harvested from leaves in the Kagoshima region. The growing climate produces a deep rich aroma and taste and a bright green tea color. The first crop of the four annual harvests is considered best when tea leaves are younger and softer. Produced under ISO 14001 Certified Environmental Management Standards.
Hot Tea: This tea is best enjoyed by pouring 176F/80C water over the leaves (2 teaspoons per cup) for 40 seconds (longer=stronger). Don’t remove the leaves. Can be infused repeatedly 2-3 times using higher temperatures & shorter infusions until flavor is exhausted.
Iced Tea: Pour 1 1/4 cups of hot water over 6 teaspoons of tea and steep for 5 minutes. Pour into pitcher while straining leaves, add ice and top up with cold water to make a quart of iced tea. Garnish and sweeten to taste.
Tasters Review:
I usually infuse my green teas for about 3 minutes, but this one suggests 40 seconds! So I did just that!
It isn’t much for aroma and the color is a murky green but it DOES taste very clean!
The flavor really enhances itself as it cools at room temp for a minute or two. It’s fairly sweet. Tsumi Sencha Green from Green Tea Lovers is a very nice GREEN tea! I’m happy I decided to follow the directions on the infusion time…it was JUST RIGHT!!!!
I would agree that if you are a Green Tea Lover you should check out the Green Tea Lovers Company! They have some wonderful offerings!
The reason you infuse only 30-60 seconds (depending on the steamed Japanese green tea) is because the steamed green tea leaves are very lightly processed. Infusing for a short time with water of 175 degrees insures that the tea leaves are not burned (water too hot) or that the tea does not become “marshy” tasting (infusing too long). That sweetness you tasted is the amino acid L-Theanine. Using hotter water would bring out the more astringent and salty tannin (catechin ) taste. The reason you must infuse black tea longer and in hotter water is because it is highly processed (fermented) and requires this longer, hotter infusion to draw the taste out.