Letting Fukamushi "Brew" in the Cup?

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Sep 29th, '11, 13:59
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Letting Fukamushi "Brew" in the Cup?

by FlyedPiper » Sep 29th, '11, 13:59

Just wondering if anyone else does this...

I do the first steep, drink . Then for the second "nuclear sludge" steep I let the cup sit for a minute or so before drinking. Being that the second steep for me is usually 15 seconds or less (with some teas it's even instant) it more or less just picks up the tiny particulates of tea released from the first steep and puts it in the cup. Let the cup sit and you get another blast of creamy umami similar to the first steeping, just not quite as intense. I do this for the third steep as well.

Anyone care to comment?

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Sep 29th, '11, 15:18
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Re: Letting Fukamushi "Brew" in the Cup?

by teaisme » Sep 29th, '11, 15:18

I'm confused...

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Sep 29th, '11, 17:02
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Re: Letting Fukamushi "Brew" in the Cup?

by AdamMY » Sep 29th, '11, 17:02

To be honest I find most Fukamushi second brews more potent in some ways than the first. While the first gives a good punch its flavor is often more reserved in terms of flavor. The second infusion which is the one that tends to contain far more little leaf bits than any other to me is almost like drinking a diluted but more bitter matcha.

While all those leaf bits will always continue to impart more and more bitterness, the length of time someone would prefer to wait for optimum punch is typically up to the person. For me as my second infusion is still on the cooler side, I want to drink that whole second cup within the first minute or two after pouring it into the cup.

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Sep 29th, '11, 23:59
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Re: Letting Fukamushi "Brew" in the Cup?

by FlyedPiper » Sep 29th, '11, 23:59

Yeah, I might be more aggressive on the first brew than other sencha brewers.

I find if I let the cup sit and let some of the sediment filter through and steep in the cup the second brew is almost as rich as the first.

For the third I brew higher 165-180 depending on the tea, and while the "creaminess" isn't there it is still flavorful in a different way. Subsequent steeps I drink more for hydration/health benefits than the taste, although some of the better senchas are still tasty into the fourth brew.

My goal is to have consistent flavor strength throughout the first 3 brews, although the flavors and colors are different with each one. Not always the case though :mrgreen: . Usually with a few attempts I'm able to "figure a tea out" and get pretty predictable results.

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Sep 30th, '11, 00:02
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Re: Letting Fukamushi "Brew" in the Cup?

by Chip » Sep 30th, '11, 00:02

Hm, interesting ... I will have to give this a try. :mrgreen:

Sep 30th, '11, 03:29
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Re: Letting Fukamushi "Brew" in the Cup?

by Nathaniel87 » Sep 30th, '11, 03:29

When I first got interested in Japanese sencha a couple of years ago (starting with deep steamed tea from o-cha) I remember enjoying the second infusions much more after letting the particles settle down to the bottom before drinking. Oddly enough, I have tried to replicate that same flavor and experience several times with other deep steamed sencha, but I have been unable to do so. Maybe it has something to do with the filters I use now versus then.

At that time I used Den's big blue kyusu with a metal screen, but that has long been replaced by several different kyusu that have either sesame filters or direct hole filters....maybe these filters let in more particles so they don't ever really completely settle like they do in a finer filtered brew.

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Sep 30th, '11, 07:03
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Re: Letting Fukamushi "Brew" in the Cup?

by sherubtse » Sep 30th, '11, 07:03

FlyedPiper wrote:Just wondering if anyone else does this...

I do the first steep, drink . Then for the second "nuclear sludge" steep I let the cup sit for a minute or so before drinking. Being that the second steep for me is usually 15 seconds or less (with some teas it's even instant) it more or less just picks up the tiny particulates of tea released from the first steep and puts it in the cup. Let the cup sit and you get another blast of creamy umami similar to the first steeping, just not quite as intense. I do this for the third steep as well.

Anyone care to comment?
Similarly to you, I let my brewed fukas sit for awhile before drinking. Even though I brew them at low temps (65-70 deg.), letting them sit for 30+ sec. seems to intensify the flavour for me. :mrgreen:

Best wishes,
sherubtse

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