New Variety - Nagomiyutaka -

Development doesn’t stop. More tea varieties are born every now and then.

Recently, one promising variety “Nagomiyutaka” (cultivated in Miyazaki) has attracted to the tea farmers.

At this point, the variety “Yabukita” is the most popular to produce Japanese tea. According to Miyazaki agricultural research institute, the new variety is better quality and can produce more than Yabukita. It is characterized by sweeter aroma and more refreshing aftertaste. The tea produced by Nagomiyutaka hasn’t been on the sale yet, looking forward to it!

Coffee & Matcha

Have you tried coffee mixed with Matcha? I have never tried. To be honest, I had never ever thought about that.

Recently, Coca-Cola(Japan)Company, Limited has bravely released “ canned coffee mixed with Uji-Matcha”.

The question is…Does coffee go well with Matcha??? You will see!!

Cute Tea Pot

What do you think it is? It is a funny, cute stuffed toy tea pot called “Yame-chan (literal; dera Yame) ”. I found it at a tea shop.

Yame is the name of the city located in Fukuoka, Japan. As you may easily guess, Yame tea is one of largest Japanese tea production, especially Gyokuro. To be honest, I haven't been to Yame, yet, but I would love to visit!

The greatest appellation of gyokuro is Yame, in Fukuoka Prefecture in terms of both quality and quantity. More than 40% of gyokuro is produced in Yame, and in the national tea jury in August 2007, gyokuro of Yame held all the ranking positions from first to 26th as the best gyokuro.The Uji district is the oldest gyokuro-producing region in Japan. – Wikipedia -

Tips and Tips - Preparing Sencha & Gyokuro -

In order to prepare Sencha and Gyokuro, you have to take care of "water temperatures". If you find difficulty in obtaining appropriate brewing water temperatures,  remember this. "Transfer hot water from pot to pot." Each transferring lowers the temperature by about 10 °C. So, just transfer several times until you get appropriate water temperatures. (ideal temperature; 50-60°C /122-140°F for Sencha, 40- 50°C /104-122°F for Gyokuro).

When you don't want to measure accurate amount of hot water, pour hot water until it rises about 5mm above the tea leaves in the pot, and steep them until they absorb the water. (It takes about 90 seconds.) Use **mawashitsugi-method and don’t miss the very last drop.

Don't throw away the tea leaves right after you prepare a cup of tea. You can enjoy several steeping of Japanese tea as follows:

For the second infusion, add just hot water (the same temperature as the first infusion) enough to cover the tea. Steep for 5-10 seconds and serve it. Be sure not to leave any tea in the teapot. For the third and subsequent infusions, fill the pot with hot water, steep for 5 seconds and serve it.

And.....if you find it difficult to use **mawashitsugi-method, just transfer all the tea from the teapot to another empty one. With this, you can share the tea with the perfectly equal strength and color.

These are tips and tips to prepare Sencha and Gyokuro. Got it?

*yuzamashi

 A temporary vessel for adjusting water temperatures

**Mawashitsugi-method

Pour tea a little at a time into each cup in turn, and then fill it in the reverse order. With this, the color and strength of tea will be the same as it is.

How to Prepare Gyokuro & Sencha

Gyokuro is the highest grade of Japanese green tea that is prepared by tea leaves steeped in hot water. Sencha, characterized by refreshing fragrance and taste, is the most common tea in Japan. To make Gyokuro and Sencha, tea leaves are steamed and dried as they are rolled into needle shapes.

Now, why don’t you prepare Gyokuro and Sencha?

< Gyokuro & Sencha (2 servings)>

 1) Warm a teapot, *yuzamashi, and teacups with boiling water beforehand. Pour 90ml of boiling water into *yuzamashi to let it cool down to 50-60°C (122-140°F) for Sencha. For Gyokuro, down to 40- 50°C (104- 122°F).

2) Place 5g of tea leaves in the pot, and add the cooled hot water. Steep for 1-2 minutes and serve by pouring tea using **mawashitsugi-method. Make sure to pour until the very last drop, which holds the highest concentration of flavor.

*yuzamashi

 A temporary vessel for adjusting water temperatures

**Mawashitsugi-method

Pour tea a little at a time into each cup in turn, and then fill it in the reverse order. With this, the color and strength of tea will be the same as it is.

Savvy??

Japanese tea and Sweets

Sencha is the most common and versatile tea in Japan. Interestingly, you can enjoy different taste depending on how to brew.

The keys are;

1) The hotter temperature of hot water brings the refreshing aroma and pleasant bitterness.

2) The lower temperature of hot water produces umami and mildness.

When your tea is ready, why don’t you enjoy with sweets?

* Sencha using hotter temperature water goes well with refreshing and sour sweets such as  tart with fresh citrus fruits, macaroon with citrus jam.

*Sencha using lower temperature water, it goes well with milder and creamer sweets, but not too rich such as tart with fresh berries, fruit mousse, sponge cake.

If you love sweets using chocolate, toffee, caramel, nuts or cinnamon, Hojicha would be recommendable. The delicious aromas, both those sweets and Hojicha have, will enhance the taste each other. And, to prepare Hojicha, you can always use hot water!