Charaku
Type: Green
Origin: Japan, Shizuoka Prefecture, Kakegawa
Product Description: Fukamushi (literally "deep steamed") teas are steamed for a longer period of time than usual during the initial processing to arrest oxidation. The result is a tea with lower astringency, caffeine content, and a darker color. This Sofu varietal infuses to a nice emerald green color, with a mildly grassy taste and aroma.
Temperature: 160° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 1-1.5 minutes
The dry leaves have a fresh green aroma with savory and mineral notes.
The infusion is bright green and opaque with a sweet and brothy aroma of freshly cut green vine. The taste is thick and freshly green with sweet and mildly savory notes, a mild astringency, and a long refreshing green finish.
Steeping at 160-165° F produced a nice balance of sweet and savory with a mild to moderate astringency. The first two infusions were thick and opaque as expected with a deep-steamed sencha with a clearer third infusion that tended sweeter and slightly less astringent. I also steeped fresh leaves for 2 minutes at 140° F, a temperature I would usually reserve for gyokuro, which produced a thick, rich, and savory tea with low to mild astringency. I tend to favor savory over astringent, so I preferred the results at the lower temperature. While you could steep the tea at 175° F, the more interesting and subtle characteristics would be lost under the grassy astringency.
This tea was provided as a free sample without guarantee of a review.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful deep steamed sencha tasting notes and comments. Nice that you tried different temperatures to get the savoury note.
ReplyDeleteThank you! There's a certain element of fun in experimenting with temperatures and steeping times.
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