Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Yunomi.us
Tea Description:
A tea popular with female customers in Japan, our Sencha of the Wind or 風の煎茶, is a sencha with a soft sweetness. Grown on southeast facing rolling hills at an altitude of 500 meters (1640 feet) and harvested in late May, the cultivation technique is very similar to our Kabuse Sencha. However, in addition to being harvested slightly later than the Kabuse, this tea does not use the Yabukita variety of tea plant (said to be the most suitable for Japanese tea) and is instead cultivated on standard tea plants. The difference is in the leaves as these leaves produce less amino acids than the Kabuse and therefore less bitterness.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I have heard that green tea is perfect for hangovers, and I suppose today is a good day to find out.
I went to an amazing show with my man last night, and one drink led to another, and another… at the end of the night I was somehow dancing on a ladder, my boyfriend trying to get me down before I fell off. Needless to say, I am feeling the effects of it today. I woke up groggily, and googled drinkable hangover cures as I dug through my stash of teas. I read on a couple of random websites that green tea is better than the hair of the dog that bit you. Even if it was a load of hogwash, it never hurts to drink a good sencha.
Sencha of the Wind from Yunomi is one of the teas produced by Kyoto Obubu tea farms. They always have an amazing selection of teas that they produce from year to year. I have the 2014 version that I got in a sampler pack a while back. I used all 10g in my large kuysu, which is (probably?) 16oz. Using warm water, 65C I flash steeped a couple times and then brewed in increments of 30 seconds. I was really surprised at how much I could get out of those leaves! I think I made it to 9 steepings before I had to call it quits.
The smoothness and richness of this brew is simply incredible. Plenty of people new to green tea in general usually say that green tea has no taste, it’s just colored water. This is going to be the tea that I will use to change their mind. All Japanese greens are so strong and flavorful, this is no exception. I love how sweet and smooth this is. I even uttered an audible, ‘wow!’ when taking a sip.
I would highly recommend this to anyone who is a little put off by the astringency of some senchas, this is a very rich and sweet brew, buttery smooth to the last drop!
Sencha of the Summer Sun from Kyoto Obubu Tea Plantations
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Kyoto Obubu Tea Plantations
Tea Description:
Sencha of the Summer Sun or 太陽の煎茶（夏） is the companion to Sencha of the Spring Sun, with a bitter taste that is strong at first. But the as the aftertaste spreads through you mouth, you begin to taste the sweet early summer sun shining brightly. Great for washing down oily meals (like summer BBQs…yum!).
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I think that the description above, while somewhat bardic, is pretty spot-on to what I’m experiencing with this tea. The sip begins with a savory bitterness, and as it washes over the palate, there is a bright, fruity sweetness that comes through. It’s really quite remarkable, this Sencha of the Summer Sun!
When compared to other green teas – or even compared to other Japanese Senchas – this Japanese Sencha has a strong, assertive flavor. I would categorize it as a full-bodied green tea. It has a fair amount of astringency to it, and some may find it to be too astringent (personally, I do not find it to be too astringent, but I could see how others might find it so), so I recommend steeping for just 1 1/2 minutes to start (175°F) to help taper the astringency.
But even though it is a bold green tea, I’m not finding it to be overly vegetative. There is some vegetal notes in there, sure, but it tastes more like creamed spinach to me than a grassy taste. Sharp floral notes that meld with the aforementioned savory bitter tones give it an umami kind of effect which then subsides into a lovely fruit-like sweetness.
A true delight, this Sencha from Obubu Tea!
ITFA Global Tea Taster’s Club, August Shipment, Part 3: Organic Gemmai cha
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:
Editor’s Note: I know it is usually spelled “Genmaicha” or “Genmai Cha,” however, the label on the package says Gemmai Cha.
Genmaicha stands out as my first really positive green tea experience. Way back (about 15 years now! yikes!) when I first started drinking tea “seriously” (err… that is, buying and drinking loose leaf tea), I had decided (rather prematurely) that I wasn’t crazy for green tea. Most of what I had tried was bitter. I have since realized that it was my fault because I had not yet learned the proper way to brew green tea. It was about the time that I started learning more about brewing temperatures and steeping time that I tried Genmaicha, and I really enjoyed it.
So I am always happy to receive Genmaicha, and was thrilled to find a package of Genmaicha along with the other teas that I received as part of August’s Shipment for the Global Tea Taster’s Club.
About this Genmaicha:
Obubu’s Genmaicha, or brown rice tea, is made with new leaves harvested in the summer. Instead of regular rice, Obubu uses sweet rice grown locally in the valley of Wazuka, creating a tea with a strong, sweet, toasty flavor and an aroma that fills the room.
While I am enjoying this Genmaicha immensely, I do disagree with the above quote regarding this tea. This has to be one of the lighter Genmaicha teas that I’ve ever tasted. But I don’t think that’s a bad thing. It is sweet and toasty, and it is very aromatic, but, it doesn’t have the strong flavor that I usually experience with a Genmaicha.
Yes, I do appreciate the strong flavor of a typical Genmaicha, but, I am finding the lightness of this Genmaicha to be very refreshing, and I’m liking it a lot. The green tea tastes fresh and exhilarating. It has a crispness to it, and a moderate amount of cleansing astringency.
The sweet brown rice adds that cozy, comforting toasty flavor, but it doesn’t taste overly roasty-toasty. It is the brown rice flavor where the lightness is especially noticeable. The brown rice isn’t overpowering the flavor of the green tea, which I think is often the case with Genmaicha. With this Genmaicha (Gemmai Cha?) it is the green tea that is celebrated, and not the toasty rice.
A very unexpected yet delicious Genmaicha!
Sencha of the Autumn Moon from Obubu Tea
Tea Type: Green Tea
Where To buy: Obubu Tea
Product Description:
Otsukimi (お月見) literally means “moon viewing” and is closely associated with Japanese festivals celebrating the moon in Autumn. It is at this time of the year when the moon appears brightest, and Japanese eat certain dishes such as tsukimi dango (round, white dumplings), edamame (soybeans), Japanese chestnuts, etc.
Our Otsukimi Sencha or Sencha of the Autumn Moon was named after this Japanese tradition not only because we harvest it in late September when the festivals occur, but also because the tea leaves and stems produce a bright yellow-green sencha with a round flavor.
Product name: Sencha of the Autumn Moon
Ingredients: 100% aracha from Wazuka, Kyoto
Tea plant: Yabukita, 20 years old
Cultivation notes: Open air
Harvest period: October
Processing notes: Light steaming (30 sec)
Product size: 1 bag (24.5 x11.5 x2.0 cm / 9.65 x4.53 x0.79 in)
Weight of contents: 100 g / 3.53 oz
Producer: Akihiro Kita
Expiration: Good for 6 months from shipment
Storage: Seal tightly and refrigerate
Tasters Review:
I think Sencha of the Autumn Moon from Obubu is REALLY incredible!
This has all of the ‘right amounts’ of all of the stereotypical green flavors in it without any one flavor dominating the others.
It leaves a sweeter after taste that is really wonderful!
Call me crazy but sometimes, as many of you may already know, I tend to associate songs with certain teas. If you were to put the song “I’m a little bit Country – I’m a little bit Rock N Roll” up against this tea…well… it would be the tea equivalent to that song!
It has a little bit (or just enough – for that matter) of EVERYTHING GOOD in a Green Tea!
It’s Totally YUM! i would recommend it to just about anyone!
Sencha of the Wind from Kyoto Obubu Tea Plantations
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Obubu Tea
Product Description:
A tea popular with female customers in Japan, our Sencha of the Wind or 風の煎茶, is a sencha with a soft sweetness that is perfect for our warm water (sencha espresso) steeping method. Steep it with boiling water though, and surprisingly the tea retains much of its sweetness.
Grown on southeast facing rolling hills at an altitude of 500 meters (1640 feet) and harvested in late May, the cultivation technique is very similar to our Kabuse Sencha. However, in addition to being harvested slightly later than the Kabuse, this tea does not use the Yabukita variety of tea plant (said to be the most suitable for Japanese tea) and is instead cultivated on standard tea plants. The difference is in the leaves as these leaves produce less amino acids than the Kabuse and therefore less bitterness.
Taster’s Review:
This is one of the softest Sencha teas I think I’ve ever encountered. It is like a bit of fresh air – which seems right considering the name of the tea.
The flavor of this tea is very delicate yet refreshing. There is so very little vegetal/grassy taste to this Sencha. It has no bitterness to speak of. It is sweet and possesses a very interesting fruit-like note that hits the palate towards the end of the sip. It tastes smooth and clean, with a pleasant crispness to it. It tastes like the early days of spring to me.
This tea also has a light yet very pleasant mouthfeel. It is just as soft as the flavor, soft and silky. I really enjoyed this tea. Such a unique Sencha!