11 Tasting Notes
Got this on sale..the 2010 end of year clearance. Must say it has held up nicely in the Japanese cold storage. Typical Fuka look to it..lots of smaller needles, broken bits and some dust. The smell in a warmed kyusu is very pleasant. It seemed quite deeply steamed.. the leaves post brew look like creamed spinach! the aroma, to me, is of asparagus and spinach as well..perhaps some melon tossed in. 1st steep for 30 seconds.. 2nd at 15 and then creeping back up on both time and temp into the fourth steep,
Preparation
Quite a nice Asamushi from O-Cha..actually from the Tsuen Tea house said to be one of the oldest in Japan. This tasting is the Shincha version btw. Went fairly cool and a min 30 first steep. nice astringency balance. second steep went 1 min and then back up on third and fourth while going a bit hotter each time. not my favorite Asa Shincha but definitely worth a shot
Preparation
What’s your favorite(s)?
I think so far my go to Asa (shincha version only) has been the Maiko Kinari , almost equaled by O-chas Warashina Supreme
Ah, I missed that one (Kinari) this year. And it appears the Warashina (permanently… unless Kevin brings it back). The Kinari is on my list… good to know. I think my favorite the last two years are the hashiri shincha’s from Den’s Tea (and parent co. Shirakata Denshiro Shoten).
Another somewhat floral light steamed Sencha from Mr Hiruma. I can only somewhat describe this as having an aroma and taste profile somewhat like a light TKY along with a classic sencha afternote. Now it also depends on temp. lower temps were less “floral” more pure sencha like.. for me anyway.
Preparation
Actually two teas under the Syansyan name here. Hanayaka & Tsuyayaka. Both are somewhat different from a “regular” sencha in that Mr Hiruma uses an almost oolong like process at first to draw out some floral fragrances to these Asamushi like teas. The Hanayaka being the slightly more floral nosed of the two. you can almsot see the withering of the leaves once they open up some. I didnt know at first how these were made and had found i difficult to compare to other senchas. I learned about the process afterwards as I hasd recieved these Teas at Mr Hiruma’s suggestion.
Preparation
good balance again by these Yuuki Asa’s. this one didnt get quite the amount of steeps the higher quality/priced ones like the Tenryu Misakubo but still not a bad Organic choice in a “lower priced” asa. i think I may have actually enjoyed the flavor profile of this one more than the higher priced hand picked tenryo. Just got more longevity out of the tenryo..
Preparation
I tend to steep Asamushi a tad longer than fuka and chu. 1 min to 1.5 first steeps are normal for me with these. at 1 min..nice balance of sweetness and astringency. Good umami here.
2nd steep 30 seconds. 3rd steep 1-1.5min, 4th steep + 2 min.
Preparation
As they say..Very nicely balanced. has a lot of steeping longevity in this one. Deep full flavor but very little bitterness and light on the oceanic flavors. Much more on the sweet side of things to my taste buds at least.
I have this one in the fridge, having acquired it, like you, on sale. Interesting to note you steeping parameters. I’ll keep them in mind when I brew mine.