Well, I had it again today. I liked it a bit better. it has a bit of a sharp note to it that I associate with sencha... not quite the gyokuro smoothness I'm looking for. I'll try it again tomorrow, but so far my verdict is the same.a few more tries to make the final judgement?
Let me ask you how you are brewing this tea. Size and type of vessel. Amount of leaf. Temp of water. Time for each of the infusions.chingwa wrote:Well, I had it again today. I liked it a bit better. it has a bit of a sharp note to it that I associate with sencha... not quite the gyokuro smoothness I'm looking for. I'll try it again tomorrow, but so far my verdict is the same.a few more tries to make the final judgement?
It was my impression too when I had my first cup of the Hibiki-an Organic Gyokuro. I thought I will never touch it again or maybe use it to blend with some Sencha left over. It stood on the shelf for a couple of weeks and then I tried it again. After playing around with the amount of leaves,temperature and steeping time I slowly found a way to brew it to my satisfaction and enjoy it.chingwa wrote:Well, Just had my first taste of the Organic Gyokuro... first impressions are... meh.
Third try this morning yields about the same results. I actually liked it better on my second try. The key may be using more leaf than I normally would for gyokuro, as the taste in general just seems... weak.Let me ask you how you are brewing this tea
I don't know what a normal kyusu is. I generally use nothing more than 140ml but I brew it according to the number of drinkers. Gyokuro is usually drunk in small amounts, very concentrated. I will use, depending on the Gyokuro, between 4-8g for about 90-100ml water. This would be for 2 drinkers. I will generally use between 55-60c for all 3 brews and then up it for 4 & 5.chingwa wrote:Third try this morning yields about the same results. I actually liked it better on my second try. The key may be using more leaf than I normally would for gyokuro, as the taste in general just seems... weak.Let me ask you how you are brewing this tea
This is my typical Gyokuro process...
Filtered water heated to boil in a tetsubin kettle, cooled to around 130f. steeped in a normal size kyusu, with 2.5 tbsp leaf (I'm gonna bump this up to 3 and see...)
first steeping: 150cc (2/3cup) water, 130f, 140 seconds
second steeping: 150cc water, 135f, 10 seconds
third steeping: 150cc water, 145f, 30 seconds
fourth steeping (really pushin' it): 150cc water, 155-160f, 1 minute
Oni, today, I decided to up the amount of leaves with the Yuuki-cha's Organic Asahina Gyokuro Tsuyuhikari and lower the temp to 55C. I used 8g in a 140ml kyusu which is not even the recommended amount for this tea (owner suggested 10g). It produced a very smooth, buttery, and, sweet tea that was subtle but satisfying. It coated my mouth and had an almost floral finish along with a whiff of the sea. I found myself very enamoured with the flavor and the feeling and will look forward to having it again tomorrow. I think sometimes our minds play tricks on us. We start expecting one thing and can't quite fully appreciate a different experience if it doesn't match our idea. This seems like a very refined tea to me whose subtlety may be lost on many.Oni wrote:I wanted to order the two top gyokuro from yuuki-cha, but after reading your posts, specially from those who drink a lot of japanese greens, I decided to skip on this order and wait for shincha season.
As a conclusion I think if they have a problem producing good organic gyokuro, than they have an even greater problem producing koicha.
