The dry leaf smells like hay, very sweet hay. And plums? Something fruity, sweet yet tart. Once put in a heated pot, the leaves smell dark and heavy, almost (but not quite) musky. After brewing, the tea smells sweet and tangy. The taste is slightly astringent and peppery. Yes, peppery. How strange.
Slurping brings out a sweet, fresh cut sweet grass taste and the aftertaste has a fresh floral note. There is a bitterness to it but not an unpleasant bitterness – more like the bitterness that comes with dark, leafy greens (collards, kale, that sort of thing). The mouthfeel is thin with a little of that peppery taste coming through on the texture – little dashes of roughness.
This isn’t as sweet as I am normally go for but I’m finding it very attractive. Will wait on the rating to see how this romance develops.
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I assume you got this in Hawaii? So is this a Gyokuro with Matcha?
Yep, this is one I picked up in Hawaii. No matcha. The package has zero English on it (except for the sticker Shirokiya put on it that romanizes the name and covers part of the ingredient list) and I haven’t taken the time and effort to translate all the little notes on the back, but I’m pretty sure it is a blend of sencha and gyokuro. (Actually, the bag says a blend of ryokucha and gyokuro but I’m assuming their green tea = sencha vs something else.) Not sure how much gyokuro is in there though.
Interesting. The one time I had a gyokuro blend sencha (by Yamamotoyama) it was not very good at all. Hopefully this one is much better!
Well, I don’t think this competes with Yutaka Midori or anything, but so far I do like it!
I assume you got this in Hawaii? So is this a Gyokuro with Matcha?
Yep, this is one I picked up in Hawaii. No matcha. The package has zero English on it (except for the sticker Shirokiya put on it that romanizes the name and covers part of the ingredient list) and I haven’t taken the time and effort to translate all the little notes on the back, but I’m pretty sure it is a blend of sencha and gyokuro. (Actually, the bag says a blend of ryokucha and gyokuro but I’m assuming their green tea = sencha vs something else.) Not sure how much gyokuro is in there though.
Interesting. The one time I had a gyokuro blend sencha (by Yamamotoyama) it was not very good at all. Hopefully this one is much better!
Well, I don’t think this competes with Yutaka Midori or anything, but so far I do like it!