i'd be curious to hear about the variations in the taste/color/brewing requirements you guys have noticed in senchas from different regions or different strains of the tea plant. so far i've only sampled teas from shizuoka or uji, and the only strains i know by name are yabukita and yutakamidori, but i know there are many others. uji, for me (so far, based on a very limited sampling), seems to have a rich, buttery quality, while i've noticed more of that 'marine' or 'oceany' taste that some folks complain about but others love in shizuoka teas. what qualities characterize particular varieties or regions for you?
~sean
Hm, an easy question to ask, yet a very difficult question to answer.
I've been trying to learn the difference between some of the varietals for a while now, but like knowing the difference between an uji tea and a shizuoka tea you have to keep other variables the same. So in order to know an Uji Yabukita as such you have to know what an Uji Gokoh tastes like or an Uji Saimidori as well as a Shizuoka Yabukita. A list of some of the breeds can be found here.
As far as being able to characterize the differences between them, that's something that I don't think I can articulate well yet, but someday hope to. In general for Uji teas, I tend to find that they come across as having more of a balance of bitterness/astringency/sweetness/richness where a shizuoka tea is aimed more at having a rich/sweet flavor than maintaining a balance. This leads to sweeter/rich flavored teas like many fukamushis tend to come across as.
This is purely an off the cuff feeling though, and obviously has it's examples and exceptions. To the same effect as comparing an Uji/Yame/Shizuoka Gyokuro.
I've been trying to learn the difference between some of the varietals for a while now, but like knowing the difference between an uji tea and a shizuoka tea you have to keep other variables the same. So in order to know an Uji Yabukita as such you have to know what an Uji Gokoh tastes like or an Uji Saimidori as well as a Shizuoka Yabukita. A list of some of the breeds can be found here.
As far as being able to characterize the differences between them, that's something that I don't think I can articulate well yet, but someday hope to. In general for Uji teas, I tend to find that they come across as having more of a balance of bitterness/astringency/sweetness/richness where a shizuoka tea is aimed more at having a rich/sweet flavor than maintaining a balance. This leads to sweeter/rich flavored teas like many fukamushis tend to come across as.
This is purely an off the cuff feeling though, and obviously has it's examples and exceptions. To the same effect as comparing an Uji/Yame/Shizuoka Gyokuro.
Oct 28th, '08, 14:26
Posts: 20891
Joined: Apr 22nd, '06, 20:52
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji
It is very hard to classify a region by flavor, or even other rule of thumb classifications.
Having said that, I will contradict myself and say I REALLY like Kagoshima teas the most. I think this has more to do with varietals than region. But Kagoshima often seems to be more willing to experiment, or able to because of their warmer climate. Their teas seem full of umami, often brothy, soupy, a salty sensation, very full in the mouth. Up to a few years ago, Kagoshima teas were unobtainable in the states, virtually. They seemed to be not interested in marketing to the west, maybe they were simply behind other regions in the export learning curve.
Similarly, Yame for Gyokuro. I see a lot more varietal diversity coming out of Yame. Yame produces more than half of all the gyokuro. I notice similar characteristics as I do for Kagoshima sencha. Very rich and indulgent gyokuro. Also very hard to obtain up to a few years ago. So, Kagoshima is to sencha, what Yame is to gyokuro, it seems.
I often personally refer to Shizuoka unfairly as the working man's origin for Japanese tea. They seem to be more down to earth in their approach to tea in general, growing, selling. They call stem tea kukicha (which simply means stem tea I believe). I like many offering from Shizuoka, but there are many I have not cared for at all. I find Shizuoka teas to be very approachable and friendly, whatever that means.
Uji, on the other hand has all the prestige, though much is self promotion. They call stem tea Karigane (which means floating geese I think), a bit more pretentious IMHO than "kukicha.) But they pull it off well. I generally like a higher percentage of Uji teas than Shizuoka. I find they can be grassy to very vegetal.
You will get many different response here since we will all be influenced by who we deal with, each vendor can be quite different.
Having said that, I will contradict myself and say I REALLY like Kagoshima teas the most. I think this has more to do with varietals than region. But Kagoshima often seems to be more willing to experiment, or able to because of their warmer climate. Their teas seem full of umami, often brothy, soupy, a salty sensation, very full in the mouth. Up to a few years ago, Kagoshima teas were unobtainable in the states, virtually. They seemed to be not interested in marketing to the west, maybe they were simply behind other regions in the export learning curve.
Similarly, Yame for Gyokuro. I see a lot more varietal diversity coming out of Yame. Yame produces more than half of all the gyokuro. I notice similar characteristics as I do for Kagoshima sencha. Very rich and indulgent gyokuro. Also very hard to obtain up to a few years ago. So, Kagoshima is to sencha, what Yame is to gyokuro, it seems.
I often personally refer to Shizuoka unfairly as the working man's origin for Japanese tea. They seem to be more down to earth in their approach to tea in general, growing, selling. They call stem tea kukicha (which simply means stem tea I believe). I like many offering from Shizuoka, but there are many I have not cared for at all. I find Shizuoka teas to be very approachable and friendly, whatever that means.
Uji, on the other hand has all the prestige, though much is self promotion. They call stem tea Karigane (which means floating geese I think), a bit more pretentious IMHO than "kukicha.) But they pull it off well. I generally like a higher percentage of Uji teas than Shizuoka. I find they can be grassy to very vegetal.
You will get many different response here since we will all be influenced by who we deal with, each vendor can be quite different.
Last edited by Chip on Oct 28th, '08, 16:19, edited 1 time in total.
Oct 28th, '08, 16:59
Posts: 20891
Joined: Apr 22nd, '06, 20:52
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji
This is a good point that not a lot of newbies know about. By Japanese law, an Uji tea for instance has to only have a majority of leaf from Uji.olivierco wrote:I don't care which region my japanese teas come from. I guess there are excellent teas (and bad ones) from each region. Regions for tea are not as crucial as they are for wines.
Uji means only >51% Uji anyway.
However there are vendors who will go out on a limb and state 100% from Uji, etc. But yeah, go by vendor reputation first. I do go by region somewhat, but it still comes down to am I willing to buy from a particular vendor ... or not?
interesting... every fact i learn in this arena seems to prompt three more questions! the relative availability of this sort of regional/varietal information is one of the things i like about japanese teas. it can be hard to come by regarding teas from other places. maybe because it's completely baffling! but thank you guys for your information. i think i'm off to kagoshima (or at least to a purchase therefrom). 