Matcha Men & Women

[Intuit]

WAIT! Don't spoil it for me! I'm still waiting on Tenuki to spill the beans on where I can find DCs at prices I can afford right now.

Yeah, Yancha I like - a lot.

So bitter taste receptor polymorphism is going to plague me throughout the tea kingdoms? Does that include perception of bitterness in many green teas??

Edit: we've thoroughly hijacked this thread. We can take this discussion elsewhere.

[Seeker]

Received my yame from zencha a while back, but haven't gotten into it due to green tea restriction. I'll be trying soon. Anyone know what's in that sample bag?

Here's a photo:

and the back:


Wonder what's in there?

Hey Intuit and TokyoB - any chance the mineral content (as well as other contents) in the water you're using could lend to increased bitterness?

Might be a silly question considering your respective comments, but it popped into my brain!

Happily I am once again a matcha man, cleared by my kinesiologist for green tea. Yay! Been enjoying Wako and Wakamatsu - both wonderfully yummy, and low bitterness.

Bitterness experience is touted to be good for liver - so if you're genetically predisposed to enhanced bitterness perception, does that bode well for your respective livers?

[Chip]

The mystery bag contains a single teabag of Yame sencha.

[Intuit]

Without doubt, my present predicament regarding exceptionally hard water (overwhelming my water filters very quickly) is an issue and complication regarding tea bitterness and also aroma/taste damping.

Interesting question about 'bitter' sensitivity and liver function. I presume we're talking about one of the primary functions of liver: production of cholesterol fatty acids as structural precursors to steroids and bile acids. It's true that taste receptors tie directly to brain and trigger organ secretory responses (including stomach, pancreas, and gallbladder).

Tie in with bitter taste sensing? Sorry - way too complicated for discussion here.