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.
