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“I got this yesterday at Samovar with lunch, if you want to read about my experience, I did a blog post about it over here: http://sanfrantea.teatra.de/2012/05/06/samovar-and-hayes-valley/ This is a...” Read full tasting note
“So here’s the thing about this tea – it’s very light, subtle, but surprisingly well-rounded. Being accustomed to the more deeply-steamed senchas, most of the senchas I have had are strong, robust,...” Read full tasting note
“I had this tea at a dinner with the Samovar founder’s brother. It was brewed in a Japanese side handled pot with a high leaf to water ratio and low temp (160F?). The experience was like nothing I...” Read full tasting note
“Brewing Tip: If you making a pot of Nishi Sencha 1st Flush make sure to strain well so the tea doesn’t become bitter. The leaves can breakup and make it through very small sieves.” Read full tasting note
Origin: Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan
Flavor Profile: Refreshing and balanced with a pleasing bitter-sweetness, this first flush sencha perfectly reflects the early-spring weather that produced it. It’s a classic Japanese green tea with the greenish-golden infusion and delicate grassiness that epitomize asamushi teas and the briskness and high L-theanine levels that characterize first flush senchas. Compare this invigorating, lively light-steamed sencha to our thicker, richer deep steamed Lobocha Sencha.
Tea Story: This incredible asamushi sencha is produced for Samovar by Japan’s most famed organic tea grower and his number one tea blender. In the high elevations of the Kashogima Prefecture in Southern Japan, organic tea pioneer Nishi-san and his family grow the three types of tea plants that are blended to create our asamushi shincha (first flush sencha) in a Japan Agriculture Standard and USDA certified organic tea garden.
These tea plants offer a particularly vivid green dry-leaf color reminiscent of deeper-steamed senchas. However, unlike fukamushi (deep-steamed) and chumushi (medium-steamed) senchas, asamushi (traditional, light-steamed) sencha has distinctively long, shiny, needle-like leaves, and a brilliant golden infusion.
Samovarian Poetry: Classic. Balanced. Brisk. Organic. This truly is a purist’s requisite Japanese green tea.
Food Pairing: Nishi 1st Flush Asamushi makes an exceptional aperitif, but it also pairs well. If you prefer Japanese food with your green tea, dine on steamed rice and baked fish, vegetable gyoza or soba with broth. For a cross-cultural pairing, savor it with buttered, crusty wheat toast, steamed chicken or flan.
Samovar's is dedicated to preserving the simplicity and integrity of the tea traditions and inspiring people to practice peace through drinking tea.
I got this yesterday at Samovar with lunch, if you want to read about my experience, I did a blog post about it over here:
http://sanfrantea.teatra.de/2012/05/06/samovar-and-hayes-valley/
This is a truly beautiful green tea, very vivid in color and well balanced in terms of umami. It had a definite seaweedy note, with a bit of grassiness, sweetness and some bitterness in the finish. I already had a lot of tea before I drank it, the bitterness made me a tad bit nauseated, unfortunately but I do have a sensitive stomach. Not sure if that was due to this tea in particular or a tea overdose of sorts…
I’m not sure exactly how this was prepared so I’m leaving the steeping parameters off. It was a delicious tea and a lovely experience.
So here’s the thing about this tea – it’s very light, subtle, but surprisingly well-rounded.
Being accustomed to the more deeply-steamed senchas, most of the senchas I have had are strong, robust, and bursting with flavor. This is a much more restrained fare, but I find it growing on me more and more.
The coloring foreshadows the sparkling, almost weightless qualities the flavors hold; it brews into a very pale yellow-green. The scent is a bit more vivid. Though slightly faded in comparison to some other senchas, it still holds that roasty, grassy quality along with something else underneath that’s difficult to place. It’s kind of sweet and a little salty. Hyacinth mixed with the ocean.
And then the main event. As I started drinking this, I thought it tasted okay, but that it was weak. Then the flavors started to build up as my taste buds became accustomed to it; it is a deceptively lively tea. First off, I will say that the aftertaste on this is rather amazing; a hint of bitter that is counterbalanced with a fresh sweetness that found me staring, openmouthed, at the wall for a few minutes before my dog nudged me out of it for some belly rubs. I probably looked like I was having a stroke, but it caught me off guard and it’s taking me a very long time to finish this cup because I keep on riding the aftertaste.
The flavor of the liquid reminds me of biting into iceberg lettuce, or a sweet green pepper. The finish as I swallow is more a roasted and makes me think of corn.
This is something to drink slowly and savor – especially the aftertaste, which is kind of magical. And I don’t know if it’s the tea or the fact that it feels really good to be home or some combination of both, but I had a very frenzied day at work today and I find myself feeling incredibly relaxed at the moment.
Time to go for a second steep.
I had this tea at a dinner with the Samovar founder’s brother. It was brewed in a Japanese side handled pot with a high leaf to water ratio and low temp (160F?). The experience was like nothing I have ever had before. To say it was an intense and concentrated blast of savory (umami) would be an understatement.
That unique and concentrated umami flavor was mouth puckering without being bitter (thanks to the low water temp and short steep time). It gave me a new appreciation for green tea and a flavor to chase in every other green since. It was not a cup of tea to sip serenely, it was an intense and deeply gratifying experience. Nothing I have had since compares.
Next time I visit my son he’s taking me to Samovar! Did you poor hot water into the Russian tea? I know they let the pot sit all day and the lower one with the water was used to dilute the strong tea and make it drinkable
That is one fine lookin’ tea, I must say…….
@Bonnie, they did not tell us we were supposed to do that! Samovar is fun and the people are nice there.