Leaf Type: Green
Produced for the Kyoto Obubu Tea Plantations
For More Information, visit the Tea Farms webpage
About ITFA Global Tea Tasters Club:
By subscribing to the Global Tea Tasters Club, you will receive tea from ITFA tea farms 6 times per year. Each time, we will select a different region to feature and as we grow in tea farm members, so will your tea experience.
Your tea will also be accompanied by info about the tea and the tea farms themselves.
To know where your tea is coming from, who has grown and produced it, to taste the difference in teas from around the world…what could be better?
Taster’s Review:
I know that I’ve said it before: I love Houjicha (or Hojicha, as it is sometimes called). I love the roasty-toasty flavor of it, and the sweet, honey caramel notes. It’s one of those teas that really remind me of autumn.
And this is quite possibly the best Houjicha tea that I’ve ever tasted. Yes, it’s sweet and roasty-toasty, with a very pleasant nutty flavor. But there is something more to this one, something that I don’t always experience with Houjicha. And that’s the creamy note that I’m tasting now. Sweet and almost milky.
According to the information that is included with the teas in the Global Tea Taster’s Club package, this particular Houjicha was harvested in June of this year. That’s roughly about three months ago! I have to believe that it is the freshness of this Houjicha that makes it stand out above the rest … and the fact that it is organically grown doesn’t hurt either.
I am so happy with this August shipment of teas from the ITFA Global Tea Taster’s Club (and it makes me wonder what is in store for us for October!) If you love tea – you’ve gotta sign up! You’ll be glad you did.
ITFA Global Tea Tasters Club, August Shipment, Part 1: Organic Sencha Yabukita Midori
Leaf Type: Green
Produced on the Hito to No, Shizen Wo Tsunagu Kai Farm in Japan
Farmer: Toshiaki Kinesuka
For More Information, visit the Tea Farms webpage
About ITFA Global Tea Tasters Club:
By subscribing to the Global Tea Tasters Club, you will receive tea from ITFA tea farms 6 times per year. Each time, we will select a different region to feature and as we grow in tea farm members, so will your tea experience.
Your tea will also be accompanied by info about the tea and the tea farms themselves.
To know where your tea is coming from, who has grown and produced it, to taste the difference in teas from around the world…what could be better?
Taster’s Review:
I have tried this on two separate occasions before I sat down to write about it. The first time I brewed it, I brewed it “light” – that is, I used a little less leaf than I normally would. This is something I generally do with a Japanese Sencha, because the leaf cut is so fine that more tea ends up in a teaspoon than, say, with a Chinese Sencha, which tends to have larger leaves. The second time I brewed it, I used more leaf. And while I enjoyed it both times, I do think I prefer the lighter infusion.
The first infusion was very light and crisp and had very little astringency … much less than I expected after reading the description of this tea:
Yabukita Midori – Soil development of a tea field is a decade-long process and Kinezuka-san has had many years to perfect his cultivation methods. The result of that is the Yabukita Midori tea leaf, made from the Yabukita tea plant cultivar and harvested in the week of the 88th day. In Japanese tea culture, the 88th day after the start of spring in the old calendar is when the tea leaves are said to be at their best, and tea made from these leaves is said to grant you long life. The taste is a deep balance of sweetness and astringency.
It is because of so little astringency that I thought maybe I had misjudged the amount of tea that I should use, and I decided to try to brew it again on the following day … that time with a little more leaf. With the second infusion, there is a bit more body to the cup, as well as more astringency. The astringency is tangy, and it provides an interesting contrast to the sweetness of this tea.
I enjoyed both infusions; this is a wonderful Japanese Sencha. However, I do think I preferred the lighter infusion. It is so sweet and refreshing! Such a crisp, pure taste. It tastes fresh and grassy. There is a fruit-like undertone which is more prominent in the stronger infusion.
This is a tea for those who truly love green tea. Soothing, restorative and yet invigorating. A perfect cup of green tea.