I really think I’m going to have to ignore the steeping instructions on the Yunomi.us website and just steep these sencha teas Western-style. I tried following their instructions this morning, as follows:
- 5 g of leaf
- 3 oz of water (used my gaiwan)
- 1st steep: 2 minutes at 70C
- subsequent steeps: 20s at ~80C
The first steep was a deep golden colour, very umami, rather astringent, and somewhat bitter. The subsequent steeps were also umami, bitter, and astringent at first, but the tea mellowed out around the 4th steep.
However, I really just want these teas to be sweet and light. Will traditional Western style (1 tsp, 80C, 2-3 mins, 8 oz) achieve that? So far, I’ve found that Japanese greens are definitely not meeting my expectations.
