I was scared of this one for a long time. I think I expected it to be bitter and astringent, but I don’t really know why. A hangover from my early bad green tea experiences, I guess. In any case, this was a really pleasant surprise. I gave it two and a half minutes, because I was too worried to give it any longer than that. I may in future, though. I was rewarded with a fairly bright medium yellow-green liquor, with the vague scent of citrus.
To taste, I’m getting a flavour somewhere between mandarin and lemon, which makes sense as that’s what a yuzu is, more or less, as far as I know. There are slight notes of peppery sharpness almost like lemon, but also hints of juicy, almost orangey, sweetness. They balance each other out perfectly, and make for an interesting and unique combination.
The green tea base is pleasant too. It’s smooth and almost sweet, with no astringency at all. This cup came across fairly weak, I think because I gave it such a short brew time, but I can remedy that in future. I have almost a whole 100g tin, after all. I was worried about that, but now I’m not! Great stuff.
