Why Japanese teas?

[Flonihoncha]

In the past, "Ureshino-cha = kamairi-cha" image was string, but now, almost shift to steamed tea, and the most prominents kamairi-Cha producing area are Miyazaki and Kumamoto.
Decline of kamairi-Cha in Japan began in the second part of the 19th C when steamed tea (which before was minor) became an important exportation product (mainly to US and Canada). The late Edo and then Meiji governemt Used a lot of energy to develop steamed tea, meaning processing method and machines. Kamairi Cha deasapered progressively from all Japan, expect from kyushu and Shikoku. For a long time, low quality kamairi was popularly drunk in Kyushu like Houji-Cha in the rest of Japan.
Today, as Xell said, people are not accustomed to kamairi-Cha taste, there is a lack of good machine, and technics. So, It's not so hard to find kamairi but a really good kamairi .... Also, price are low, so a lot of growers prefer to switch to steamed ones. But some passionate growers in kyushu keep believing in this tea, others in Shizuoka or else are getting more and more interesting in the possibilities of kamairi Cha coupled with cultivar.

[Tead Off]

Maybe you can write about some of the less popular Japanese teas so you can educate many of the members here. For myself, I have just discovered Kamairicha and find this tea to be fascinating and in a different category from sencha.

I purchased three Kamairicha teas as part of my last Yuuki-Cha order. Miyazaki Tokujo, Miyazaki Okumidori, and Miyazaki Sakimidori. I've tried two of them already (Tokujo and Sakimidori), and am really enjoying them. A nice change from my daily sencha routine. They remind me of a cross between pan-fired Chinese green tea, pouchong, and asamushi sencha.

In my order from Yuuki-Cha, I bought the Tokujo and Okumidori. The Tokujo was an eye opener and filled my mouth and throat very nicely. I can't say the same for the Okumidori. Is it because of the difference in the cultivar? the farm? the processing? Okumidori is more sharp with less of the mellow sweetness and aroma that I love about the Tokujo. I find the Tokujo more like a Korean green in both look (curly small leaves) and flavor as they also finish their teas with a pan firing to stop the processing.

Noesis, please describe your experience with these teas.

Chip, maybe we can start a separate thread for Kamairicha?

[Chip]

Flonihoncha ... Happy Birthday! ... since it is roasted and the prices are low, like Houji-Cha which usually uses bancha, is the tea used usually lower grades say than those used for Tamaryoku ... the steamed version?

Do people in Japan prefer the steamed version, Tamaryoku-Cha ... since it seems more is produced? Does this come down to the law of supply and demand?

Do you have any idea what percentage of tea produced in Japan is Kamairi?

Tamaryoku?

EDIT: TO, sorry missed your post. Xell uses the term "tokujo" to indicate grade. I thought it was mid grade.

I get confused by the varietal names Okumidori and Okuyutaka ... cannot remember which is which at the moment.

Of course anyone can start a new topic.

[Tead Off]

According to Denshi Jisho Dictionary, tokujo means: first class plus; extra special.

[Chip]

According to Denshi Jisho Dictionary, tokujo means: first class plus; extra special.

Then what is Gokujo which he uses for an even higher grade.

I know the Japanese grading leans toward the high end of things, for instance when you look at the Hibiki-an site it goes Superior, Premium, Super Premium, Pinnacle ... heh, they do not say mid grade though I would say their Superior is mid or even lower grade.

Kind of like saying really good, really really good, and really reallllllllly freakin' good ...

Seems if it is lower grade, they simply do not indicate grade.

Come to think of it, the Gyokuro Superior was not superior to anything ...

[Tead Off]

Gokujo: first-rate; finest quality; the best

[Chip]

Gokujo: first-rate; finest quality; the best

So kind of what I expected ... thanks. Sort of parallels Hibiki-an's.

[David R.]

Joyeux anniversaire Florent !

[sherubtse]

I've heard that only really little amount of roasted tamaryokucha is still produced in Ureshino region. Didn't touch this theme deeply, but what i heard process requires more manual labor and it's really difficult to keep consistent taste from batch to batch. Also most people prefer taste of steamed tamaryokucha. Which is why now it's almost extinct and difficult to buy even in Japan. I just asked shop owner, why he doesn't have any. He said that no one buys it...

Unless I am mistaken, the 5th video of the Mellow Monk series of videos shows the production of kamairicha. Here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eeKWweN ... re=related

Best wishes,
sherubtse

[Flonihoncha]

Chip, David, thanks for the birthday !

Flonihoncha ... Happy Birthday! ... since it is roasted and the prices are low, like Houji-Cha which usually uses bancha, is the tea used usually lower grades say than those used for Tamaryoku ... the steamed version?

Do people in Japan prefer the steamed version, Tamaryoku-Cha ... since it seems more is produced? Does this come down to the law of supply and demand?

Do you have any idea what percentage of tea produced in Japan is Kamairi?

Tamaryoku?

Like with sencha, there is very low grade kamairi-cha, very cheap, and very high grades ones, but these are not so expensive, even competition priced ones ! Good kamairi are made with good leaves, bad with bad leaves.
Actually, very few people in japan had ever drunk kamairi-cha. Meiji government planed the complete shift from fire-paned green tea to steamed green tea, because steamed sencha was the second most important exportation product (with silk) which was the foundation of Japan economic development. In the late 50's/early 60's, sencha was no more drunk in USA but for the first time, middle class japanese poeple could afford to buy such a tea, and at this time, Kamairi-cha was already rare. There is no demand because nobody knows it.

Tamaryoku-cha covered 3% of the national tea production, but the statistic does not make distinction between kamairi-sei and mushi-sei. but i think kamairi-cha proportion is very very small, probably not even 1% of production.

[Chip]

Thanks for the reply!

I guess what I am wondering, sort of in summery ... is Kamairi production so low in response to very low demand? Therefore the market will not support a higher price?

I would have thought that the steamed version would have had a larger market share, interesting. I find the steamed version, Tamaryokucha enjoyable, a bit mellower than sencha, and an easy brewer ... and therefore great for everyday enjoyment ... and casual brewing when brewing a good sencha might not be practical.

[Tead Off]

not easier to brew than sencha. The same attention has to be paid to leaf/water ratio and temp.

[Chip]

not easier to brew than sencha. The same attention has to be paid to leaf/water ratio and temp.

Sorry, maybe I was not clear about the brewing. I was referring to the steamed version, Tamaryokucha. Although I thought Kamairi I had (several selections all at the same time) was a bit easier than most sencha once I got past the learning curve.

Ultimately, I did prefer the steamed Tamaryoku over the Kamairi which is why I am asking some of the questions I am asking ... I will periodically reorder Tamaryokucha while I might not the Kamairi.

Of course this is personal taste.

[Flonihoncha]

not easier to brew than sencha. The same attention has to be paid to leaf/water ratio and temp.

Sorry, maybe I was not clear about the brewing. I was referring to the steamed version, Tamaryokucha. Although I thought Kamairi I had (several selections all at the same time) was a bit easier than most sencha once I got past the learning curve.

Yes, the same attention has to be paid when brewing kamairi, but there is also a lot of possibilities. The sell point of some seller is " can brewed with boiling water".... I think boiling water is too much, but 90°C with a short time can be good, and with good kamairi, a long infusion with cooler water is excellent too. Question of taste and mood. A very good brew is not easy than steamed green, but the risk of a completely missed brew is very low, I think. Personnally I use small Chinese Yixing type pot. It makes miracle with kamairi smell !

Ultimately, I did prefer the steamed Tamaryoku over the Kamairi which is why I am asking some of the questions I am asking ... I will periodically reorder Tamaryokucha while I might not the Kamairi.

Of course this is personal taste.

I used to have a bad image of kamairi, but now I really enjoy it....
Steamed tamaryoku is not so different from sencha, during process, one of the malaxing phases is just skip, kamairi is a completely different thing.

[Tead Off]

I've been experimenting with 55-65C water temp for the 1st brew, 60sec. For 2nd, same temp, shorten brew time to 30sec. From there, higher temp longer time for each subsequent brew. I've also used 75C and enjoyed the robust flavor.

This is a tea that can stand on its own, imo. The roasting here should not be thought of as imparting a roasted flavor to the tea. Green tea is often finished off with a pan fry. I am happy to discover this tea and think Yuuki-Cha should be congratulated on offering so many varieties of them.