Sakura Season

 Sakura is a feast for the eyes.

Also a feast for the palate.

Sencha named "sakura-hime (lit: sakura princess), which is blended with natural sakura leaves. It has a scent of sakura, giving me a feel of spring. Perfect with "sakura-mochi" sweets, which is wrapped in a sakura leaf.

Wakocha by a pioneer of Japanese Black Tea Industry

【Benifuki Wakocha by Mr Niroku Muramatsu’s signature tea, at Mariko in Shizuoka】

Mr Muramatsu is a pioneer of Japanese black tea industry and also virtually revitalized “benifuki”, which is now the most popular cultivar to make black tea in Japan. Even now, so many tea growers constantly seek for his advice and guidance. Niroku, together with his wonderful wife Tokie, always welcome them and generously shares his techniques to all.

His 2020 tea "mariko kocha", benifuki second flush, produces a deep ruby colored liquor. Flowery and herby aroma are coming up from a teapot while brewing. Also great with milk.

Together with "sakura mochi".

My Hand-rolled Black Tea

My hand-rolled black tea using sayamakaori cultivar sent from Mr Matsumoto, Sakuranoen, in Kumamoto.

Still a little early for tea season 2021, but he has withered and frozen some leaves picked in the past so that tea-lovers can experience tea making throughout the year.

Tea color turned out to be more reddish than I expected, which is good. It has "some" flavour (I cannot say "wonderful"...), and a mild texture without any harshness. Not bad. Thank you, Matsumoto-san:-)

Kabusecha from Minamiyamashiro village in Kyoto

 【Kabusecha by Mr Nakakubo at Minamiyamashiro village in Kyoto】
Minamiyamashiro, only village in Kyoto, is a well-known tea producing area. Mr Nakakubo’s family has been producing tea incl. green and black at the village more than100 years. This "kabusecha" is one of them.

Kabusecha is covered green tea. When L-Theanine, a component of Umami (savory flavour), in the leaves is exposed to sunlight, it changes to catechin, a component of astringency. So in order to maintain L-Theanine, the leaves are covered around for 10 days (different from region to region) before being harvested to avoid direct sunlight. In Kyoto, tea covered more than 14 days can be called “kabusecha”.(Tea covered shorter than that is called “sencha”)

Brewing method is up to your mood. When you want something to make you feel relaxed, brew it with a lower temperature hot water. When you are in mood for more refreshing tea, you can brew it with hotter water for shorter brewing time. Very versatile.

His kabusecha made from "saeakari" cultivar has a mild texture and a good umami with a hint of sweetness like grains.

Matcha on Ice Cream

Sprinkle matcha on Ice cream. It might be hard to tell the difference on the photo, but a huge difference when you taste.

【Hand-picked matcha ground by stone mill (left)】  

            -- deeper and more vivid green in colour, finer texture,  milder and sweeter taste.

 

【Cooking grad matcha ground by machine (right) 】  

              -- a bit dull and yellowish green in colour, rougher texture, and bitter.

 

Both matcha are from Ujitawara city in Kyoto.

 

Japanese Oolong in Mariko

 【Japanese Oolong by Mr Niroku Muramatsu in Shizuoka】

Mr Muramatsu,  who will turn 81 soon, is a leading tea master of Japanese black and oolong tea world. Without him, Japanese black tea industry wouldn't have revitalized as we see now. Unfortunately, bad things happened one after another to him last year, but his passion and love to tea never fades. Age is just a number.

Clear and golden liquor has a full of floral aroma like orchid. A round texture with a gentle aftertaste lingers  beautifully.

Bancha

I found a harbinger of spring, "ume (Japanese plum)" blossoms at a local small shrine. 

I also found another sign of spring, "yomogi mochi (a Japanese herb flavored sweets)" at a tiny tea house in the shrine. How can I resist it!? Together with "bancha". 

Bancha is tea usually made from late summer or autumn leaves in a local method as a daily tea for local people. So when we say "bancha", it has different meanings and different characters from region to region. 

In any case, bancha is considered low-grade and inexpensive. But drinking bancha on such a beautiful place and day is priceless. It was what I felt grateful for on this day.

Uji Cha LOVE Tea Party 2021

I joined a webinar from Ujitawara town known as “the birthplace of Japanese green tea” where Mr Soen Nagatani, who invented sencha production method, was born. 

We tried tasting flight using several kinds of wonderful tea (all made in Ujitawara) sent by the the town in advance.

1) From left to right: Sencha/Hand-picked Gyokuro / Kabusecha.

Especially, gyokuro is so beautiful. Glossy, dark green color and beautiful needle shape. Of course, it has a lot of umami.

                       

 2) From left to right:Hand-picked Matcha /  Machine-picked Matcha /  Cooking grade Matcha 

Cooking grade has a bitterness, and the color is not vivid enough. On the other hand, hand-picked matcha has a smooth texture and milder and frothy when you make. 

When the situation gets better, I would love to visit Ujitawara again.

The farther of Japanese green tea, Mr Nagatani Soen and the house where he was born. 

 

MY Hand-Made Osaka Black Tea

【Three and a half months old Osaka wakocha】

Last autumn, I made a small amount of black tea from leaves in a tiny tea garden that I sometime tend to. I made this just for fun, so I am not saying this is great, but compared to freshly-made tea, it has a little more citrusy aroma, savory flavor with a rounder texture, which is good news.

Since tea seeds are emerged from tea fruits, I soak them into water to see if they are likely to germinate. The sinkers are likely to do while floaters are not. Unfortunately, many of them seem to be duds....which is a sad news. 

Whatever it is, tea is fun.