2011 Zencha Fuji The Ultimate Shincha

Shincha – what a great thing to find in mailbox. The first picking of fresh green tea in Japan started just a while ago and is still in progress, yet we are already able to try some of the earliest birds.

So far this year, I've ordered my Shincha from Zencha – “Fuji The Ultimate” originates in Shizuoka, was hand-picked at the end of April and processed as Fukamushi-cha (deep-steamed tea). Though I've previously mentioned favoring Asamushi over Fukamushi teas, I can't deny their sharp, fruity green taste is possibly one of the best ways to really enjoy the taste of liquid spring.

The package is opened and ultimately fills the room with vividly sweet, fresh smell, typically much stronger than that of Asamushi teas and almost aggressive – however, this aroma keeps its nobleness, being very fine and, literally, green. It belongs to small leaves comprised mainly of short needles and a bit of tea-dust; their color is almost jade-green and seems slightly lighter than in normal Sencha – a frequent sight for Shincha. In terms of Fukamushi teas, they seem very attractive and well-made.

These leaves are placed into the preheated kyusu teapot and their smell immediately intensifies, underlining the fresh, sharp sweetness.

The first infusion is prepared with a bit hotter water than I usually use for Sencha (though still not really high in temperature) and shorter brewing time – this should get more of the typical refreshing taste I enjoy so much in these fresh teas. As a result, its color is vivid-green and just a bit opaque. The taste is very similar to smell – fresh and strong, lively green and sharp, yet very refined – it starts as a sweet, green sensation on tongue, full of milky and fruity tones, especially of young green apples and grapes and ends in pleasant, sweet and smooth aftertaste, long and cool.

The second infusion is brewed only for a few seconds and already results in almost non-transparent, opaque green brew, quite different from its predecessor in terms of taste, which is now significantly sharper, spicier and heavier. Still, the fruity, refreshing tones are preserved and so is the soft sweetness in aftertaste, now even longer and more intensive.

The third infusion is still very opaque and vividly green in color, though already a bit milder and rounder in taste. In this brew, the fruity, sweet freshness returns as a dominant tone, making the overall feeling of this infusion much smoother. The aftertaste is shorter and lighter, showing some new woodsy tones.

In terms of color, the last infusion is similar to the first, being just a bit opaque and even lighter in color. The taste is now drier, more woodsy and lacks the fruity notes as well as any milkiness, though it still possess the cool, refreshing body.

One more thing to say – a personal wish of mine. Please, do buy this year's Shincha, do buy this year's Japanese tea. I am aware of what happened and of the fact that many people decided not to buy them this year – not considering the fact that while the power-plant is located in the northern part of Japan, most of the tea-producing prefectures are located in the south, hundreds of kilometers away. The country's economy has already been damaged a lot by the disaster – if we moreover stop purchasing Japanese products, we won't be of any help in its recovery.

I am not a nuclear physicist and may not understand the whole accident properly – instead, I want to say that I believe I understand Japanese mentality at least a bit. And it's exactly their perfectionism and seriousness that makes me say this and get rid of any fear that they would let any harmful product on the market. So please, keep shopping for Japanese teas – judging from this Shincha, it seems like there really is a lot to look forward to about this harvest.

The River

The river, so calm -
today I will show it all
my birthmarks

Tea in the Park, Year Two

Accompanied by gentle breeze and mild sunshine, I met with old friends today and headed towards the oldest public park in Bratislava, Sad Janka Krala. We decided to repeat the event from last year, when we met at the exact same place with one purpose in minds - to enjoy a bit of silence in nature and drink fresh spring green teas right under the sky.

This Saturday seemed to be an ideal day for such a meeting, being delightfully warm and sunny – similarly to last year, we enjoyed two 2011 teas today, both green and Chinese. The first was Hai Nan Bai Sha Lu about which I wrote last month; the second, picked about a month later, was Wu Yuan Ming Mei, originating in Jiangxi province.

Drinking tea outside is a completely different experience from drinking it at home – there is something very pleasant in the sight of fresh leaves, slowly unfolding in water, just as if they were dancing for the singing birds.

This impression is even strengthened by the trees above our heads, reflected in cups filled with mild tea.

Escaping the city rush at least for a moment often seems priceless - and so does the opportunity to spend at least a bit of our rare time with long unseen friends and welcome spring by drinking its first harvest.

2010 Shupping Mushisei Tamaryokucha Competition Grade

With long sunny days and temperatures higher than 20ºC almost everyday, I can finally enjoy Japanese green teas as much as I generally do in summer and autumn. Yesterday, I've already placed an order for my first 2011 Shincha (yes, I am going to drink this year's Japanese teas, despite of recent events) and can't wait for it – but until then, there is still quite a lot of interesting 2010 teas I haven't talked about yet.

This Tamaryokucha is one of them. Purchased quite a while ago in Slovak shop Nomad (though, being originally imported by Czech Teamountain, it carries the original TM label), it originates in Kumamoto province of southern Japan and is made of Sayamakaori cultivar. This specification – as well as the package – may seem very similar to the priced Kamairi Tamaryokucha I talked about in December – both of these teas attended the same National Tea Competition of Japan and are of similar grade (this one scoring 149 points there), yet there is a significant difference between them.

Those fond of Tamaryokucha can probably already tell the difference from names of these teas – Kamairi means that the tea was roasted and shaped instead of steaming to stop oxidation similarly to Chinese greens, while Mushisei teas, just like the one I'm going to talk about today, are steamed, shaped and may or may not then be roasted additionally.

Incredibly fresh smell comes out of the package right as it's opened – properly stored Japanese green teas can stay fresh for quite a long time, even almost a year after production. This scent is very fruity, buttery, sweet and, compared to its Kamairi counterpart, less nutty and more juicy.

In terms of appearance, these leaves fulfill the expectations for high grade Tamaryokucha, being curly, dark-green and shiny.

As the water gets quite cool, the first infusion is prepared – pale, jade-green and transparent in appearance, smooth and refined in taste with a lot of various tones, most of which are reminiscent of different kinds of fruit. The overall feeling on tongue is buttery, strong yet harmonic and finishing in a long, sweet aftertaste, quite milky and, once again, fruity.

The second infusion is already a bit more vivid in color, which is now yellowish-green yet still very clear; predictably, the taste and smell also gained on intensity, now being less buttery and milky and even more fruity with predominant tones of peaches and canary melon. The aftertaste is a quite mouth-filling and strong, though a bit shorter than after the first brew.

The third infusion is green in color and has quite similar taste to the second one – however, it also reveals some new tones, especially slight spiciness and a hint of woodiness in aftertaste, marking that the next infusion is going to be the last one.

Prepared with quite hot water and extended time, the last brew is a spicy, decent finish to this mild, refined green tea, still showing some of its original pleasant fruity notes and lively freshness.

One of the ways to distinguish Mushisei from Kamairi Tamaryokucha is examining the spent leaves – steamed leaves tend to be softer, lighter green in color and a bit more fragmented than roasted – this tea is no exception.

The Spirit of Spring: 2011 Yunnan Mao Feng and Hai Nan Bai Sha Lu

As the temperature outside keeps getting more and more enjoyable, air fills with smell of blossoming flowers and ever-present singing birds, we naturally start to crave for something greener, lighter and cooler, something to harmonize the body with tempo of changing weather. Luckily enough, some early-spring first picks of fresh teas are already available – naturally the most suitable and enjoyable option to satisfy the craving.

I've been able to try two 2011 teas so far – Yunnan Mao Feng from Teatrade.sk's offering and Hai Nan Bai Sha Lu from Nomad.sk. Both of these teas were picked in February and both are Chinese, though they originate in different provinces and vary quite a lot in processing.

This post isn't really supposed to compare; its main purpose is just to share the joy.

At the series of tea tastings organized by Teatrade last summer, I've got accustomed to preparing fresh Chinese green teas in tall glass cup instead of a gaiwan (though I casually still use it for these teas as well, it just depends on the mood). Their Mao Feng is therefore prepared in this style; its big, curly greenish leaves with quite a lot of young buds are poured into the preheated double-wall glass thermos, immediately intensifying the fresh, flowery and herbaceous smell, so typical for early pan-roasted Yunnan greens.

I use longer brewing times and quite hot water for this Mao Feng; even so, it remains very light, mild and clear, just as the early spring itself. The color of its brew is very transparent greenish-yellow, corresponding with the taste, which is light, smooth, nutty and flowery, cooling in mouth and has slightly buttery aftertaste.

Its freshness is nicely represented by vivid herbaceous note, especially reminding me of green nettle and brew made of its fresh young buds (often consumed in Slovak countryside, especially as a traditional medicament – I don't know about other countries, though).

The second tea is Bai Sha Lu from Wu Zhi Mountain of Hainan, the smallest and southernmost province of China. It's leaves show some characteristics of the way it was processed – in contrast to Mao Feng, these leaves were steamed and chopped, resulting in quite short, uniform appearance and mat, light green color. Their smell is thicker, deeper and fruitier with slight reminiscence of Japanese green teas (which are, after all, processed in a very similar way).

Also prepared in glass, this tea gives yellow infusions, also somehow “thicker” in character, very sweet and complex, pleasantly heavy and with tones of ripe fruit, especially plums and apples. Further infusions also show slight spiciness, especially vivid in aftertaste.

Though this tea is much heavier and less flowery-light than the pan-roasted Yunnan Mao Feng, it also posses the typical spring character, which, however, shows up in a completely different - and likewise interesting - way.

Only few things can bring such peace to mind as drinking fresh tea in the afternoon sun. Judging from these two early birds, it seems like there is definitely a lot to look forward to about this year's harvest in China.

Tranquil Afternoon

2010 Gokuchanin Hanhakoucha Choucho

This tea interested me from the first moment when I saw it in Teamountain's offering – another of Gokuchanin's oolongs, once again inspired by famous non-Japanese tea. While the main inspiration of previously mentioned Hanhakoucha Tefutefu was Taiwanese Oriental Beauty, in case of Choucho, it's a whole category if teas - Yancha from Wu Yi. This tea is made of Sayamakaori cultivar, which is quite typical for its native Saitama prefecture. When I saw it in offering of Slovak shop Nomad some time later, I had no doubts and purchased it immediately.

The dry leaves really are reminiscent of Wu Yi oolongs – they are mostly brown, quite dark and curly, though generally a bit shorter than regular rock teas. However, the first big difference can be observed in their smell – very fruity, fresh, light and somehow typically for Gokuchanin's Hanhakoucha in general. They share some notes with Tefutefu as well and, more surprisingly, also with Korean Yellow tea – very interesting indeed. There are no vivid roasty or nutty chocolate tones typical for Yancha.

The first infusion is golden yellow in color, very clear, refined and fruity in taste with dominant tones of sweet, ripe apples and apple juice, plums and a slight umami undertone. The taste is very complex, harmonic and mouthfilling, yet light and refreshing with long, spicy aftertaste lingering on tongue with mild, yet vivid ripe fruity tones.

The second infusion, though brewed for a shorter amount of time, has darker, pure orange color (very whiskey like). It's also a bit more intensive in taste, even more fruity than the first infusion, less refreshing and more warming; still, the tea keeps its noble complexity with dominant fruitiness and, in this infusion, also a hint of pleasant creaminess and citrus fruit. The aftertaste gets even longer after this infusion, being very apple-like and gradually becoming sweeter and sweeter.

The third infusion gets even more orange, though still preserving the clear transparency in color; the taste is very similar to that of the previous brew, just a bit more spicy, intensive and mouthfilling. The creaminess is significantly stronger in this infusion, contributing to the noble smoothness and repressing any possible astringency.

In terms of color, the fourth and fifth infusions are very similar to the second one, while in taste, they are still just as intensive as the third brew – smooth, fruity and a bit citrus-like, still very sweet, warm and creamy with long, spicy aftertaste. This character continues through the sixth and seventh infusion, before the tea starts losing its complexity.

In my eyes, Hanhakoucha Choucho proves that Gokuchanin is not trying to copy the famous original teas and instead just takes some inspiration from them to certain extent, which varies from tea to tea. After all, this tea reminded me of much more than just Wu Yi rock teas – Korean yellow tea, Bai Hao and even Japanese black tea, Koucha. Moreover, it still keeps the typical Japanese character under all these “exotic” tones. Personally, I hope that Yoshiaki Hiruma will never get bored nor run out of inspiration and will keep experimenting like this – I'm already a big fan of his work, which seems to be one of the most extraordinary amongst Japanese producers.