"Slow-Drip" Tea in Tokyo

[chingwa]

Just when I was thinking I hadn't seen anything "new" in the green tea world, along comes this:

http://www.tokyosaryo.jp/

They're following the slow-drip coffee trend that's been increasingly popular around the world. I wonder how it affects the flavor of the tea, or whether it's just a visual gimmick. Has anyone experienced this?

[Tead Off]

Just when I was thinking I hadn't seen anything "new" in the green tea world, along comes this:

http://www.tokyosaryo.jp/

They're following the slow-drip coffee trend that's been increasingly popular around the world. I wonder how it affects the flavor of the tea, or whether it's just a visual gimmick. Has anyone experienced this?

Makes some sense. The best coffee I've ever had was from a slow drip cafe in Korea but it was computer controlled and not done as shown in the video on their website. No reason it cannot produce some interesting flavors. This shop seems to have good teas that they are working with.

[victoria3]

Nice aesthetic although, it seems more of a novelty, as traditional multiple steeping brings out nuanced range of flavors. I just did a week of slow drip coffee, it was tasty, so I could see slow drip sencha, followed by cold brewing.

[NateHevens]

This actually looks cool. I'd love to try it, but I'm not sure where to get the proper equipment needed...?

[entropyembrace]

This actually looks cool. I'd love to try it, but I'm not sure where to get the proper equipment needed...?

It looks like re-purposed coffee gear. Try checking specialty coffee shops for pour over brewers and goose-neck kettles.

[chingwa]

I'm not a coffee drinker, thus have no experience on why slow-drip would be better. Someone please explain the benefits? Is it just a deeper more thorough infusion of flavor? If I'm ever in Tokyo again maybe It's worth trekking out to Sangenjaya to try it.

[Tead Off]

I'm not a coffee drinker, thus have no experience on why slow-drip would be better. Someone please explain the benefits? Is it just a deeper more thorough infusion of flavor? If I'm ever in Tokyo again maybe It's worth trekking out to Sangenjaya to try it.

Most coffee is over-roasted and the flavor is dominated by the roast, drowning out the fruitiness and higher notes of the drink. Like tea, the quality will make a lot of difference in the end. Drip coffee brings out a wider flavor profile. Even here in Bangkok, I've been to a place that does their own roasting and drip style. Far superior to most cafes, but usually a lot more expensive.

[PAQF]

I tasted a delicious gyokuro prepared with this method in Amsterdam at Formocha (Formocha Premium Tea, Eerste Looiersdwarsstraat 28). They used a device to prepare dutch coffee that gave them a lot on control on the water dripping and brewing speed. The apparatus look beatutiful (I think this is the web page of the manufacturer https://www.dutch-coffee.nl) but it is expensive . If you got the help of someone familiar with glassware you can buy the parts and build your own design.

[entropyembrace]

I'm not a coffee drinker, thus have no experience on why slow-drip would be better. Someone please explain the benefits? Is it just a deeper more thorough infusion of flavor? If I'm ever in Tokyo again maybe It's worth trekking out to Sangenjaya to try it.

The advantage over most other coffee brewing methods is that it gives complete control over infusion temperature, time, and coffee:water ratio. Some other brewing methods offer similar control but vacuum pot is harder to handle and french press leaves a lot of sediment in the cup so pour over (or slow drip as it's being called here) is popular among people who want to bring out the best from their coffees. Like Tead Off pointed out, any cafe that bothers with this method is going to be using high quality lots of coffee which has been properly roasted and is fresh.

Also, with only a couple of exceptions automatic drip machines are really bad, they never have the correct water temperature and there's almost no control over any of the brewing variables. Plus people and cafes that use them often ignorantly fill them with over-roasted, stale, and often rancid coffee.

That said I'm not sure what's special about it for tea? We conventionally brew tea in a tea pot or gaiwan by full immersion like a french press, but even by pouring through a spout we get much fewer leaves coming through than the amount of ground coffee sediment that gets through a french press screen. Slow drip tea will avoid any leaf bits that can scare non-tea drinkers and avoids handing a tea pot full of leaves and hot water to the customer to screw up, but I don't see it making as big a difference for tea as it does for coffee. Unless you're used to tea bags that is.

[debunix]

The slow drip might work for finely broken leaf like sencha of gyokuro, but it wouldn't give a rolled or twisted intact leaf room to expand.

[Muadeeb]

I visit Formocha every time I'm in Amsterdam, usually once a year or so. Last time I was there, this pour-over contraption was brewing Oriental Beuaty, and it was very enjoyable. Amanda's new shop is very nice, and one of the employees was making onigiri snacks for the customers! I always leave there with $100 of very good tea.

I tasted a delicious gyokuro prepared with this method in Amsterdam at Formocha (Formocha Premium Tea, Eerste Looiersdwarsstraat 28). They used a device to prepare dutch coffee that gave them a lot on control on the water dripping and brewing speed. The apparatus look beatutiful (I think this is the web page of the manufacturer https://www.dutch-coffee.nl) but it is expensive . If you got the help of someone familiar with glassware you can buy the parts and build your own design.

[onjinone]

It looks fascinating and would love to try. But I feel like the fun in tea is in the flavor change with multiple infusions. It doesn't seem as practical to be doing that with a slow drip method even if you had your own equipment. Regardless, I think it'd be worth trying.

[PAQF]

I visit Formocha every time I'm in Amsterdam, usually once a year or so. Last time I was there, this pour-over contraption was brewing Oriental Beuaty, and it was very enjoyable. Amanda's new shop is very nice, and one of the employees was making onigiri snacks for the customers! I always leave there with $100 of very good tea.

I tasted a delicious gyokuro prepared with this method in Amsterdam at Formocha (Formocha Premium Tea, Eerste Looiersdwarsstraat 28). They used a device to prepare dutch coffee that gave them a lot on control on the water dripping and brewing speed. The apparatus look beatutiful (I think this is the web page of the manufacturer https://www.dutch-coffee.nl) but it is expensive . If you got the help of someone familiar with glassware you can buy the parts and build your own design.

I learnt from Formocha from a previous message from you in a different topic. It was our first visit to Amsterdam and the visit to Amanda's shop was one of the highlights of our stay. The place is amazing and Amanda an excellent guest.

[entropyembrace]

Something to be aware of: we're actually talking about two different brewing methods and calling them both "slow drip"

http://www.tokyosaryo.jp/ website shows a pour-over device which is used to slowly pour hot water from a goose neck kettle over the tea leaves (normally over ground coffee). The infusion time here is around 4 minutes.

https://www.dutch-coffee.nl/ is showing a cold brew device which gradually drips ambient temperature or cold (from melting ice) water over the tea leaves (normally ground coffee) for hours, usually overnight.