Upton's Sencha and Gyokuro

Is that what Upton recommends? All of the products I've received from them have infusion guides and I suggest that you stick to the temp and play with the time. For example, my new sample of Japanese Cherry Bancha says 180F for

2-3/4 to 3 minutes but I had to drop it down to 1-1/2 min. to eliminate an unpleasant over/undertone.

Yes, I have some sencha from ocha.com, and they also recommend temps in the

170-180 range. However, I have usually found these teas more pleasant in the 140-155 range. The higher temps do tend to bring out brisk, wilder notes. Who knows, perhaps Japanese themselves prefer them this way.

Printed directions for these teas usually ask for less leaf than I like, too.

Joe

That's possible. For us, though, tea is very YMMV. I went looking around and found "Most Chinese greens will steep best at 170 to 180 degrees, and Japanese teas, often being more delicate, are better at 160 degrees or lower" at

Guess I'll do more experimenting.

Does lower temp equate to more leaves because the flavor isn't drawn out as quickly or something like that?

The only senchas and gyokuros I've ever had were from Upton, and I thought they were awful. Maybe I just don't like Japanese greens, or maybe Upton's are bad, I don't know. But like I posted before I felt like I was drinking the mulch that comes out from under my lawn mower. Gyukuro is supposed to be Japan's best tea (other than Matcha) but it tasted like the sencha yamato which tasted like the sencha which tasted like bermuda.

Which Sencha was it? I like their Sencha Kamakura, though I haven't had it in a while. I think you temp is good. For the Kamakura, I prefer two tsp. of leaves per cup and 45 seconds to one minute steep. For the most part it seems like I like lower grade sencha's at 1tsp. per cup and around two minutes, and better sencha's with two tsp. per cup and 45 seconds to one minute steeps. I should admit that I've never had any of the really expensive sencha's. Upton's Sencha Kamakura, Pete's Sencha and Den's Teas Sencha Honyama are as pricey as I've gotten.

Blues

One thing: I've found that gyokuro steeps best at around 120 deg F, which is far below what Upton's suggests (at least last time I looked). Granted, it wasn't an Upton's gyokuro I was drinking, but I'm sure the same applies.

Ian

I've had Senchas from a few places including Upton, and my guess is either that you don't like Japanese greens, or you steeped them too hot and/or too long. I don't know of any style of tea that has such a dramatic difference in taste if improperly steeped.

-- Randy (if replying by e-mail, remove SPAMFREE and DeLeTe from my address)

Ok well I have a little left of each. I'll steep 'em cool and short and give 'em another shot, since I've heard so much about them.

120? For haw long?

--Tom

-oo- ""\o~

------------------------------------ "Homo sum, humani nil a me alienum puto." Terrance

Do that ^-^ But please keep in mind that japanese greens will change their flavor very rapidly after opening. So if your Sencha is older than, say, 2 months, it might be better to get a new pack.

As for infusion, I'd sugest something around 2 minutes with 60-70 centigrade. To cool, and your tea will taste flat, to hot and it will get bitter. For the following infusions, I usually give 30 seconds each.

But if you don't like the grassy taste, then japanese greens maybe are just not your thing ^-^

ciao Patrick

This, of course, is only good for sencha. Also you want to experiment a little, since your sencha and your likings might differ a lot from my sencha and likings, respectively.

ciao Patrick

I don't know, man, a couple of minutes. Bear gave me this advice. His take on Japanese greens is that the more delicate they are, the lower the temp needed. He suggested at least 120, or lower.

I tried it with this Yame gyokuro he sent me, and it was fantastic. Of course, it was never very hot, but there was no bitterness, not really any grassiness either. It tasted like apricots.

Ian

Thanks for the suggestions. After playing around with temps and times I did find that the sencha could tolerate higher temp, but the gyokuro was noticeably better at lower temp. I increased the leaf amount due to suggestions here and I got it just right, for me at least. It's strange, with first flush darjeelings sometimes I find myself steeping upwards of 4 minutes, which I still enjoy quite a bit. With these Japanese greens, though, to get the true texture and taste it takes some attention. Luckily, even making a below average cup is a fun and you learn from it.

Well I did give it a shot, and you're right, the taste improved. They're kind of like gunpowder, in that steeping too much of it or for too long a time ruins the otherwise decent taste with too much of that taste. There's sort of a sharp cliff past which the taste just becomes too much of itself, you know?

I still like the whole-leaf teas though. Any whole-leaf Japanese teas?