Sencha of the Spring Sun

After hike tea – I am trying to get back into shape and have been walking more but today it was a super intense hike. I am tired and wish I could kick back with some wine but I still have things to do today.

So tea it is ;)
This came from my Obubu sampler pack, I found it in my box of samples. I thought I finished the Obubu samples a while ago but found this one. This is a really delicious green tea, though it reminds me more of Chinese green tea than of a deep steamed Japanese green. It is yellow-ish gold in color and has a nutty flavor along with deep vegetal notes, a bit like a dragonwell. There is a mild bittersweetness in the finish. Something about it seems very soothing, which is good because I wanted a little boost but don’t want to be awake all night. A nice one from Obubu! I’d consider getting more of this sometime.

Only two untried Yunomi samples after this.

The dry leaf is very dark green and needle like, varying in size from 2cm pieces to small flakes. It smells a bit nutty and oceanic, in a way that leans toward being rich rather than light and breezy.

I steeped 2.8g, which was roughly 1tsp (whhhhy does the packet say 5g/1tsp?? These are not even close to being equivalent!) in an 8oz cup, with 80C water. Initially steeped for 30 seconds and then added another 10, for a total of 40s, which is plenty.

Steeped the liquor is a medium golden yellow and quite clear. The liquor smells like grass and honey, while the steeped leaf smells of seaweed.

On the palate this is predominantly honey with some nutty notes. There’s the characteristic vegetal notes of sencha but they are not as pronounced as they usually are – they mostly pop up in the finish, as a bit of a green tang. This is very sweet and really delicious. If I take a big gulp, there’s a brothy quality at the back of my throat and peas on the finish, but small sips don’t carry those notes.

I feel like a lot of the Japanese greens I have tried lately have had strong honey notes. I’m not sure if this is just the teas I’ve happened to select, or if my palate has changed (though I don’t think it has – I haven’t been noticing a lot of honey in other teas.) This leads to a lot of them feeling rather similar, and I think I’d have to sample them side by side to really pull out the differences or pick a favourite. But, I’m not complaining – honey is one of my favourite notes in tea, and all these samples have renewed my interest in Japanese greens. This is a dimension that I hadn’t previously experienced in sencha.

I got up this morning and set my table to entertain a day of Japanese tea, only I had to go out this morning and clean the house when I returned which means it’s coming up to 2pm and I have yet to taste some tea. I’ve decided to forget the other tasks I need to do until dinner time so I have an afternoon and early evening of tea. (Yay!)

Sencha of the Spring Sun sounds beautiful and warm. In appearance the Sencha is dark green with some light green stems and a high gloss. They are a mixture of small pieces and long pieces, all dry and sharp looking. It has a sweet (yet slightly astringent) scent with floral sweet pea, fresh grass and hay tones.

Standard steeping
Tea – 5g
Water – 80 C
Volume – 180ml Futanashi Tokoname
Over three steeps

First Steep – 30 seconds
A warm juniper and fresh cut grass scent shines through. Flavour is mild, sweet and very fresh with grass and floral tones with some lightly toasted hay towards the after taste. Particularly sweetpea and mild but fresh seaweed.

Second Steep – 10 seconds
More vegetal tones are becoming present as it becomes stronger. Seaweed, sweetpea, fresh grass and broccoli being notable. A touch of astringency and dryness though nothing dramatic.

Third Steep – 30 seconds
More astringent and dry though remains sweet and with flavour. The astringency makes it more perfumed rather than being plain astringency.

A nice Sencha overall that has lingering after tastes and an abundance of flavours suitable for many steeps. Not the smoothest or highest quality but perfect for every day drinking.

Plus a side note – the sun came out while I was drinking this which was a nice touch, it shone down strong enough to make it feel like Spring again. I will carry on steeping this while I watch Hellfighters (with John Wayne), my nan used to love John Wayne and watching his films reminds me of her.

Now that advent calendars are done, it’s time to get into the habit of taking the time to drink these Japanese teas on a regular basis, because my cupboard is overflowing with subscription teas from Obubu! Plus I just really love Japanese green teas, roasted or otherwise.

This was one of a few sealed packets left from a sampler set that I bought when I was at their tea farm in Wazuka last year. Seems an easy place to start for sipping things down! I used 160°F water in my kyusu, and did 3 steeps – 60s, 15s, and 45s.

To me, this is the essence of sencha. The beginning of the sip was very light and grassy with some hay notes, but an umami steamed spinach note soon appeared and grew in intensity over time. It filled my mouth and lingered in my cheeks long after the sip. I would describe it as green, brothy, and full of life – perfect for Spring! There was some underlying fresh grassiness present as well, and a creamy texture reminiscent of edamame. The finish was long and lingering, picking up soft floral and fuzzy apricot notes after the vegetal taste subsided a bit. I found little sweetness to this tea, as the savory and pleasantly bitter notes dominated and made me feel full of energy. A very full-flavored sencha with a nice intensity and a touch of astringency.

I found the name to be perfect, as I could just imagine the little shoots saving up all of their concentrated flavor over the winter months, and exploding with such energy and joy in the Spring.

(starting off with a conservative rating until I get a few more sencha in…)

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJRu3kRAEEG/

The dry leaves in the warm kyusu smelled faintly of fruit tree flowers. After the infusion the wet leaves smell sweet with a slight green bean or snap pea scent.

The flavor’s really milky and creamy to me. It’s light and delicate with a very full mouth feel that makes me salivate. Predominantly the flavor reminds me of sweet cream with a mild grassy backdrop.

The second infusion was mildly floral and sweet, and left a sweet sensation in my mouth for quite a while after.

This is perhaps the most delicate of the Obubu senchas, really lacking in astringency and not a really bold flavor either. It’s really smooth.

Tried brewing this western style, with just over 3 tsp for 24 oz, steeped for 3.5 min at 79C.

I have to say I like this much better. There’s the savoury flavour, a little bit of sweetness, and some astringency. I think I’m going to brew the rest of my Japanese teas using the same parameters.

Also, this is a sipdown. Woo!