Tuesday, July 14, 2020

Tea Review: Kagoshima Organic Genmaicha (Charaku)

Kagoshima Organic Genmaicha - 2020 Shincha
Charaku
Type: Green
Origin: Japan, Kagoshima Prefecture
Product Description: 
Organic Yabukita Sencha from Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, + Organic Brown Rice Blend from Niigata and Shizuoka. Our Organic Genmaicha infuses to a very smooth and fragrant tea with low astringency. It has the grassy notes of good Sencha, plus the warm toasty aroma of roasted brown rice.
Temperature: 175-190° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 2-3 minutes

The dry leaves have an aroma of roasted rice and popcorn with marine green notes.

The liquor is bright yellow-green with a savory green and roasted rice aroma.  The taste is toasty with roasted rice and light sweet green notes.

I'm more accustomed to later-season genmaicha where the taste and color of the tea leaf is more muted, so this was a refreshing change.  The dark green color of the shincha really stands out beautifully in this blend, and the sweet green taste of the steeped leaves isn't buried under the flavor of the genmai (roasted brown rice).  While I enjoyed the results after steeping for 2 minutes at 175°F, the genmai-to-leaf ratio allows more flexibility with steeping time and temperature.  I found that steeping at 190°F for 3 minutes brought out more flavor and allowed for more infusions without developing astringency.  

This tea was purchased by me.




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