This kamairicha is another first for me! I have a bit of experience with Chinese green teas, so it will be interesting to see how pan frying affects Japanese greens. I steeped 5 g of leaf in 150 ml of 160F water for 60, 20, 20, 30, 40, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.
The dry aroma is of toasted rice, roasted nuts, and grass. Oof! The spinach and squash in the first steep are a surprise! I also get butter, asparagus, toasted rice, nuts, roast, and minerals. The next steep has a thicker body and is a bit drying, with more pronounced hazelnuts and butter and lots of veggies. Subsequent steeps have notes of asparagus, spinach, grass, roast, nuts, minerals, butter, and earth.
My nose expected a very different tea than my taste buds received. I enjoyed seeing how pan frying creates those buttery, nutty aromas, but it seems to be much better integrated into Chinese greens than Japanese ones, at least based on this small sample. I have to say I liked yesterday’s kukicha much better.
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Flavors: Asparagus, Butter, Drying, Earth, Grass, Hazelnut, Mineral, Nuts, Roasted, Spinach, Squash, Thick, Toasted Rice, Vegetal
Preparation
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Kamairicha reminds me a lot of Laoshan green tea. It’s got the umami of Japanese greens with the nuttiness of Chinese greens. I’ve had some good kamairicha and tamaryokucha from Yuuki-Cha.
I actually haven’t had Laoshan green tea, though Laoshan black tea is great! Are all kamairicha so vegetal? Most of these Japanese green teas have been very green, even more so than Chinese green teas.
I find Kamairicha to be warm and toasty. It’s vegetal but less intense than sencha. But you’re right, Japanese green tea is generally greener than Chinese green tea which is softer, nuttier, and has more subtle flavors. To me, kamairicha is like if these two teas got married and had a baby :-)
Sencha can definitely get pretty vegetal. I might try another kamairicha if I see one. I think Camellia Sinensis carries one from time to time.
Kamairicha reminds me a lot of Laoshan green tea. It’s got the umami of Japanese greens with the nuttiness of Chinese greens. I’ve had some good kamairicha and tamaryokucha from Yuuki-Cha.
I actually haven’t had Laoshan green tea, though Laoshan black tea is great! Are all kamairicha so vegetal? Most of these Japanese green teas have been very green, even more so than Chinese green teas.
I find Kamairicha to be warm and toasty. It’s vegetal but less intense than sencha. But you’re right, Japanese green tea is generally greener than Chinese green tea which is softer, nuttier, and has more subtle flavors. To me, kamairicha is like if these two teas got married and had a baby :-)
Sencha can definitely get pretty vegetal. I might try another kamairicha if I see one. I think Camellia Sinensis carries one from time to time.