Goishicha

My last loose-leaf sample from Tiffany – thank you so much! This is perhaps the most unusual tea of the bunch. It’s a heicha from Japan called Goishicha after the black stones used in the game go. Otoyo town seems to be the stronghold of goishicha producers. The tea undergoes a bipartite fermentation, with an initial fermentation by mold and a subsequent bacterial fermentation and pickling (by juice from the tea leaves themselves).

Fairly sweet from the get-go, with a nice sour note pervading the steeps. Lower leaf:water ratio is preferable: 1 g : 30 mL is fine with boiling. Mouthfeel is a bit slimy. Aftertaste is fairly long-lasting.

From the rare tea class on the last day of the Master class. If you are ever able to take part in this I highly recommend it. I want to go again.

Ah. Goishicha. If you think dark tea, heicha, pu er, is weird. You are about to experience a whole new level of mind-blown. This was my second time having the honor of tasting this tea. The first was through the Global Japanese Tea Marathon. Let me tell you. Nothing will quite prepare you for tasting this one. Or Ishizuchi Kurocha for that matter. I won’t down play that lightly because it is not your typical dark tea category experience. rofl. Actually, would be an interesting prank tea. Maybe Anyway, the entire room will be quite musty after brewing this. And will remain that way for a bit. Good luck to you.

Ah, but then you must taste it too. You are first greeted with a square. A square of dark, glossy tea leaves. This shape will remain after steeping unless you play with it. Though after infusing it will be slimy looking with pickle and very slight light aroma. The mouth feel is smooth. But you won’t be able to concentrate on the feel because the flavor will be insulating your senses. Pickle. Pickling. Fermented leaves pickle. It’s unique and I’m not selling it well but go try it anyway. This tea is an art.