Ikkyu

The sample I have is from the Intermediate Japanese Global Tea Association class. However, there are very few companies that sell this tea and I didn’t see this company listed so I decided to make a steeper page for it since I was impressed with the amount of detail they used. The tea has been open and ready for me to use for a bit so the dry aroma is somewhat diminished but there are notes of pan-fried leaves. Some leaves are glossy, some dull. Twisting and curling. Went with a one-minute steep to start. The initial aroma coming off the leaves is lovely. Notes of pan-fried corn with a bit of butter and a bit of asparagus. Smooth mouthfeel with just a touch of astringency. I think I actually over-steeped this one. Round two fight. 30 second steep now. Much better. Good vegetal notes. My egg and rice breakfast with furikake sprinkled on it might have been a bit too strong for this one though. Better to sip on its own. Third steep. Even less time. Still vegetal notes. The furikake is just destroying the other flavors though. It’s all over my palate. Point taken with that one.

On a side note. I am looking to start nitro brewing teas at craft fairs. But the hurdles I am going to have to jump through to do it are a bit daunting. I broke down a bit yesterday but I am picking myself back up today and hoping for the best. Pray things will come together for me because I would love to see this work.

I don’t remember where I bought this. The bag has “Ichigo Trading and Travel Company” on the front and “Ikkyu” on the back, each with a different website that lists this tea. It was made in March 2019 and should have been consumed the same year, even sealed. I whisked 3 grams into 100ml of 175 F water.

It has a mild bitterness with grassy notes. It’s really good. It’s like the flavor of green tea, but bolder and more mild at the same time. There’s a bit of sweetness to it also.

I also tried adding some to a smoothie with frozen bananas and strawberries and fresh kiwi. This was my first time trying matcha in a smoothie, and it’s amazing. I’ll have to find some cheaper matcha for smoothies!