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Another tea from the rare tea class in the Global Japanese Tea Association Master Class. The dry leaf is incredibly photogenic. The greens just burst out of the picture. Very pretty. Mostly flat with a few silver buds hidden here and there. Muted greens with pops of lime, pear, and crocodile greens. Also some slight edge curling. The wet aroma is full of spring florals. It’s hard to pinpoint with such a short amount of time to smell it. Liquor aroma is reminiscent of other white teas with barnyard notes but not as strong as other Chinese white teas. However, there is also a nice woody note alongside that reminds me a bit of Palo Santo. The flavor is earthy. Hay and pile of leaves. I would like to revisit this one and give it a proper steeping.

During the master course, we tasted over 30 Japanese teas. On the last day, we had the honor of trying out teas that are not often seen outside of Japan. This was one of them.

The appearance is very much like a white tea. The dry leaf consists of whole leaves and buds. The coloring is a contrast of light and dark green with some silver buds. Mostly flat. There were ten of us plus teachers and others so I couldn’t sniff the leaves long enough and now I don’t remember. Sad Panda. Good thing I took other notes.

The wet leaf had a truly unique aroma. Whereas other whites tend to have a farmyard scent this one had something going on that I couldn’t quite pinpoint. I needed more time to sit with it. The liquor was all about the green pepper. There was also compost but man that fresh green pepper really stuck in my head. The mouth feel is incredibly smooth. This is definitely one that needs more time for a session, especially after tasting woody and sugar cane notes in the flavor.

The more you drink Japanese greens, the more delicious they become. Actually, you can apply this to any country’s tea. The palate develops differently as we taste different things. As much as we may like to drink different teas from other places we won’t develop our palate the same if we stick to one country.

This is a lovely Japanese green. The first infusion was thirty seconds. Silky mouthfeel with just a hint of astringency. The flavor is high in umami though not as much as a gyokuro. Also steamed veggie notes. There is a bit of fresh grass as well. The wet leaf of Japanese greens will always remain my favorite aroma after visiting the processing factory in Wazuka (Obubu Tea). Fresh leaves and deep steamed veggies.

My mom in law bought this for me for Christmas 2023. At first I wasn’t a huge fan but now that I know how to properly steep Japanese greens I’m finding it more palatable. It’s not as good as others but great for on the go. Right now my kids are playing in the central park(not NY) splash pad and I’m sitting here sweating with this sencha. Har har. It makes a great umami bomb. But the over all umami when infused at the regular amounts is less like a typical sencha. Also a black kyusu works great for infusing in the heat

The dry leaf aroma is very nice. So fresh smelling. Freshly cut bark and new green twigs. The suckers that don’t burn if you accidentally gather them. Other floral and woody notes in the background. I’m sure the first infusion tasted great but I’ll never know because the table stole it from me. I guess I could make a tiktok about licking up the spilled tea on the table but no thanks. The second infusion is nice. Dark wood notes. Black cherry, walnut, and a bit of oak. I’m also picking up a hint of walnuts but mainly the bitterness that you get with their soft crunch. The wet leaf aroma is enthralling. The moment it hit my nose after pouring out the liquid so many thoughts ran through my head. Black raisins, cream, lacquer, sweetened raisins, raisin bread. You can get so many infusions out of this one. I have no idea of what number I’m on.

Researching cheap airline tickets to SMF for my cousin’s wedding while I’m doing this. Man I miss my flight bennies. ^^;

Dry aroma: Pomelo. Honey and honey-dipped cantaloupe.
Initial aroma: very mineral. Wet stones and granite.
Wet leaf aroma: Makes your mouth water. Raisins. Green grapes.

Liquor appearance: Slightly cloudy. Slightly dark amber.

Flavor: Surprising. Not nearly as vegetal or honey-like as I would have expected based on the aroma. I would say it is closer to being woody. I would try again but this has been my least favorite so far.

A quick swipe along the edges of the inside of the packet with your finger. Preferably. When you pull your finger out you will find it somewhat covered in white hairs. These glorious beings are trichomes. Aren’t they cute?

Dry aroma: This smells like a typical white tea to me. If someone were to ask me when you think of white tea what comes to mind? It would be this scent. Obviously, there are plenty of different white teas with different aromas so I’m not saying they all smell like this. Just saying overall, this is a popular white tea aroma. Sort of a barnyard mix of scents. Dry bale of hay and tall dry summer grasses.

Dry appearance: Very beautiful. Various hues of green ranging from dark green to olive green and plenty of silvery hairs. The pluck seems to be standard with bud, first, and second leaves present. Long stems, some also covered in hair. Actually, a lot of them are.

Inital aroma: Intense and saturated barnyard hay. Shifting slightly to summer floral and fresh spinach notes.

Flavor: 30 seconds. I know it’s longer than the package recommends but I wanted to give it a little push. Slightly bitter with notes of herbal liquors. This would pair well with 43. Very fresh broccoli and kale. And now let’s push a little more. We took the same water from the one above and just steeped it a bit longer for one minute. The bitterness definitely ramped up. Though there is a lot of leaf in there so I know that’s part of the bitterness issue. Can of green beans? Creamed green beans? Something like that but mainly lots of barnyard hay.

This is a good white tea. But I’m not finding anything overly special about it.

1 tsp powder. 6oz batista oat milk. 1 Oz water.
The froth is exceptional! The bubbles are a bit big to call it perfect but it’s quite nice regardless. You could even make latte art. The flavor is quite unique. Almost exactly like a regular wakocha but creamy. Slightly woody with notes of fresh oak and a hint of Palo Santo. Also warm whole milk and cream. Plain cream of wheat. At first I thought it a bit odd in flavor but it has definitely grown on me.

Another tea leftover from the courses taken through the Global Japanese Tea Association. The dry leaf is glossy dark green with a few other green hues and flat. The aroma is of creamed spinach or maybe butter and green beans. I’m at the beach so we are doing a cold infusion.
Seaweed and high in umami.

If you read any tasting notes for this one before you drink it you will definitely taste what you read. I accidently read cantaloupe and now I taste it.
The dry leaf is long and incredibly thin. Mostly dark green with hints of light pistachio green. The aroma is filled with umami and grassy notes.
Flavors high in umami. It doesn’t quite taste like zairai to me though so I believe this is one of their conventional gyokuro. This is one of the teas from the Global Japanese Tea Association classes. The mouth feel is incredibly smooth though it is quite a bit astringent if you don’t watch it. Thus far I’ve been able to get 3 full infusions from these leaves. This also makes a great Umami bomb if you use the koridashi (ice brewing style) .
It is pretty simple if you have never brewed that way before. Simply add your leaf and ice cubes to an appropriate size cup and wait till it melts.