Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where To Buy: Sugimoto America
Product Description:
This is our signature Sen Cha. Our Sen Cha is “Fukamushi.” refers to the deeper (longer) steaming process after the harvest. This extra steaming time results in fine leaves, and the taste is richer and more full-bodied than regular Sen Cha. Depending on steeping conditions, it has a bit of sweetness and outstanding fragrance.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I am finding myself just as excited to learn about the theme that Steepster has selected for the latest Steepster Select box as I am to receive the tea itself! This month, Steepster chose “Steep for Japan” as their theme.
Here’s some more information on this theme:
To say Japan has had a difficult year would be an understatement. This past March, the island nation experienced one of the most powerful earthquakes since the beginning of modern record-keeping. The quake and resulting tsunami have devastated the country, and while tea production was largely unaffected, the damage to Japan’s infrastructure has severely impacted thousands of Japanese people and businesses.
As rebuilding continues, we’d like to introduce you to a few classics from a country synonymous with green tea, as our own small way of supporting the cause.
All proceeds for this box will be donated to the Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund, which assists organizations providing aid and emergency services to the victims. For more info visit bit.ly/steep-for-japan.
This Sen Cha Fukamushi is the first of the three teas that I’m tasting from December’s box, and I’m loving it!
The aroma of the dry leaf is incredible… very fragrant. Sweet and floral. I don’t get much of a grassy smell from the dry leaf at all, which is really unusual for a Sen Cha. At least, in my experience, it is. Normally, I can smell a strong vegetative sort of quality, but, not here. Interesting.
The brewed tea does have a vegetative aroma, smelling faintly of steamed vegetables – something mild like spinach, perhaps? I still detect notes of flower and that sweetness that I noted in the dry leaf, but, with the brewed tea it has become more of a unified fragrance that is a little sweet, a little savory and a little flowery.
The flavor is quite unlike any Sen Cha that I can recall tasting. It is remarkably light in color, but the flavor and texture is quite another story. The texture reminds me a bit of a light broth. The flavor is full and sweet, with a savory tone that hits the palate by about mid-sip. This savoriness is difficult to describe, because it’s not quite bitter, it is not quite briny and it is not quite sour … but it is a little of all three, and it arrives just in time to rescue the palate from what might otherwise be a sip too sweet – delivering a sense of balance. Very nice!
I’m finding this Sen Cha very enjoyable – a rich, smooth, satisfying green tea with very little astringency. Take the leaves for a second infusion – it’s just as lovely as the first! Another excellent choice from Steepster Select!
