Shinobi-cha Brewing

[tmorten]

Hey guys, with summer coming up I have started to look into different ways of cold brewing green tea. I happened to stumble upon a very interesting way of cold brewing gyokuro. It is called shinobi-cha brewing. It involves placing a few grams of gyokuro in a hohin or small kyusu along with a couple ice cubes. As the ice melts, the water infuses with the leaves and produces a very rich brew. You can then pour the tea into a small cup as the liquid is produced.

Has anyone ever heard of or tried this method of brewing? Would the tea get bitter from infusing so long in the pot? I will probably be experimenting with this method pretty soon but wanted to see if anyone had any input.

P.S. There is a very informative video on YouTube with a gentleman describing this brewing method in detail.

[Dresden]

I believe this is the video you are referring to. I have tried it with sencha and it works pretty well if you have the free time.

As for the brew, I find it comes out sweeter than usual. If I remember right, a cold brew will not get bitter.

Mike

[Chip]

I personally would not really want to cold brew straight gyo, let alone ice brew. I do this with sencha and often mix gyo that I was not thrilled with hot ... the cold brewing is much more forgiving.

[LauraW]

I believe this is the video you are referring to. I have tried it with sencha and it works pretty well if you have the free time.

As for the brew, I find it comes out sweeter than usual. If I remember right, a cold brew will not get bitter.

Mike

Hm, sweeter intrigues me.

tmorten, if/when you try this, be sure to post back, I'll be interested to see your findings!!

[OchameTaiken]

I will often lay a bed of gyokuro on a small dish and top it with a large uncut block of ice. It takes an hour or so, but the presentation is unbeatable. (I'll serve it in a wine glass.)

Wouldn't see this done with sencha normally. Not that ice wouldn't bring out the amino acids of sencha just as well as gyokuro, but it's an awfully "special occasion" way to brew tea, and is best reserved for gyokuro, being naturally high in theanine and low in catechin.

An ice-brew gyokuro (kōri-dashi gyokuro, or shinobicha) is one of the best ways to really learn what "umami" means (short of putting a little MSG on your tongue...)

[debunix]

how much of the sweetness comes through this very cold brewing? I'm more interested in that than in the umami.....

[OchameTaiken]

how much of the sweetness comes through this very cold brewing? I'm more interested in that than in the umami.....

Well, sweetness and umami really go hand in hand, and more often than not people will mistake one for another (partly why I enjoy the old MSG trick )

Sweetness and umami are both the result of amino acids. Sweetness being mostly due to L-Theanine, and umami more the result of glutamic acid. Amino acids have no problem steeping out even at low temperatures, and are extracted rather quickly.

Caffeine (bitter) on the other hand is not as well extracted at low temperatures, and catechin (astringent/bitter) is hardly extracted in cool water. So cold water (or ice) is THE way to extract all of the sweet amino acids without the harsher constituents, and there is no risk of over-steeping.

I found a photo of the kōri-dashi gyokuro I mentioned above. (Hope I'm not breaking a rule in posting it?)

[teaisme]

gonna try this out with some gyo tonight fantastic presentation that's for sure

Really wondering what book you got that pic from
Please tell!

[tmorten]

Churng, you'll have to let us know how the gyokuro turns out.
I am interested to hear how cold brewing can bring out the umami and sweetness from the leaf.

Unfortunately, I haven't had enough time this past week to try it out.
I'm also way overdue for a good gyokuro session.

[OchameTaiken]

Really wondering what book you got that pic from
Please tell!

This was actually from a monthly magazine published in Japan.
They happened to do an all-tea issue, and for a magazine it was actually more in-depth and detailed than most books on the subject!

One section simply focused on rei-gyokuro (ice gyokuro).

[Miyabi]

This was actually from a monthly magazine published in Japan.
They happened to do an all-tea issue, and for a magazine it was actually more in-depth and detailed than most books on the subject!

Would you mind sharing the magazine title and issue, if it's not too much trouble? (Kanji or Romaji). Thank you!!
We have a rather well-assorted japanese library here and really want to check this one out. Sounds promising, especially the photographs!
Cheerio!

[OchameTaiken]

The publication is Discover Japan by Ei (枻) Publishing.
I'm away from my library, but I know I picked up the tea issue some time last year. It shouldn't be too hard to find online, but I'll check the volume # and let you know.

As I recall, the photos were very fantastic.

[Miyabi]

Thank you!
Seems like this is the issue? http://www.sideriver.com/ec/products/de ... ct_id=2068
Table of contents sounds really good, I definitely have to check this one out.
Thanks again!!

[OchameTaiken]

当たりです！That's the one. Looks like vol. 3, Winter 2009.

It starts with a very artistic pairing of tea and confections by an art design director, suited to each time of the day.
A detailed look at most styles of Japanese tea, with microscope photos of the leaves in high-res.
Then, exploring gyokuro in Fukuoka: including our ice block gyokuro, shizukucha, and shinobicha style brewing.
A look at Ippodo, Tsuen the oldest teashop and a famous Kyogen play that is based on their shop.

Just for starters...

[teaisme]

ah once again I wish I knew japanese

Those articles really do sound interesting