Yuuki-cha

Edit Company

Recent Tasting Notes

82
drank Organic Chiran Sencha by Yuuki-cha
943 tasting notes

[April 2020 harvest]

It’s been a while since I’ve had a fukamushi sencha, so this one is a welcome addition. The interesting thing about it is that it is more herbaceous and minty than grassy or vegetal. There is some good bitterness too and the umami flavours are mostly bready. Liquor has a medium to full body and a thick, oily mouthfeel with next to no astringency.

The aroma is concentrated around the dry leaves, later there is almost none to discern, and displays a mix of vegetal (courgette) and forest (mushrooms) notes.

The taste is crisp, marine, sweet and a little metallic with dominant flavours of mint and bread. Other notes include asparagus, edamame, licorice, and pine needles.

As is common for fukamushi senchas, the colour here goes from deep nuclear green to light green and then to a very light mix of yellow and green.

Flavors: Asparagus, Beany, Bitter, Bread, Forest Floor, Grass, Herbaceous, Licorice, Marine, Metallic, Mint, Mushrooms, Pine, Sweet, Umami, Vegetal, Zucchini

Preparation
160 °F / 71 °C 0 min, 15 sec 5 g 7 OZ / 200 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

96

My third kamairicha and once again a top-notch green tea. There’s an amazing range of flavors that unfurls on your tongue as it steeps. The taste is a mix of fruity, umami, grassy, sweet, and nutty. The liquor is thick with a buttery mouthfeel, evoking the lush flavor of high mountain oolongs. I first had it a few weeks ago while down with a sinus cold and even with my sense of taste and smell greatly impaired, I could still taste the pear like fruitiness. Gives at least 3 good infusions.

Flavors: Fruity, Grass, Peanut, Pear, Peas, Seaweed, Umami

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 1 min, 0 sec 2 g 3 OZ / 96 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

91

This summer is going to go down as the summer of cold brew. Ever since I got the technique down, I’ve been cold brewing non-stop and my daily tea consumption has quadrupled as a result. I think I’ve only hot steeped a handful of times this week.

What follows is my shortcut cold brew method which I learned on IG and tweaked slightly. It was designed for Japanese green tea but works well with other teas too. I drop 2g of tea in an 8oz cup, fill with room temperature water, cover and walk away. 2 hours later, the tea is strained and poured over ice. With certain teas like this one, I’ll give the leaves a vigorous stir 5 minutes before straining. Lather, rinse, repeat with other teas. Way more efficient than waiting 8-10 hours for tea to steep in the fridge, IMO.

This has been my favorite tea for this cold brew method. The broken up fukamushi leaves infuse quickly and have so much more umami and sweetness as compared to hot steeping. When cold steeped, I definitely prefer the intense flavor of this deep steamed sencha over my lighter asamushi sencha. Upping my rating slightly because of how well this performs cold brewed.

Flavors: Green, Sweet, Warm Grass, Umami

Preparation
2 g 8 OZ / 236 ML
Ubacat

I’ve enjoyed this tea for 2017 and 2018 but just wanted to change things up this year. I’ve never tried doing a cold brew on sencha (or for any other tea). I tend to be partial to a hot tea but you’ve intrigued me so maybe I’ll give it try on some of my senchas.

LuckyMe

Definitely give it a try. I think sencha is the ideal green tea for cold brewing. I wasn’t into cold steeping either, but once I nailed down the ratio and technique, it was life changing.

Ubacat

You’ve puzzled me a bit the “lather, rince , & repeat”. What does lather mean? I am about to try it today with my Yakushima Shincha from Yuuki-Cha.

LuckyMe

I just meant repeat the same process for other teas that you want to cold brew. Sorry for the confusion.

Ubacat

No problem! I tried it today. I didn’t have ice cubes so I set my refrigerator to make ice cubes. It was quite awhile before it spit out the first few. For the first infusion I didn’t have any ice cubes and it seemed too strong. For the 2nd infusion (I thought that’s what you meant when you said repeat) it was much better. It was really light. I had ice cubes for that one and really enjoyed the light sweetness and buttery flavour. It’s still a bit weird drinking cold tea but thanks for the instructions. I’ll give this a little more tries with other teas too.

LuckyMe

Ah, I neglected to mention you can dilute it to strength. And as you discovered, the tea can be reinfused although I usually just discard the leaves after the first steep. Glad you were able to try it out.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

91

Here’s the second tea from my Yuuki-Cha shincha order. I usually buy just one tea during shincha season since a 100g bag lasts awhile but with so many interesting teas at Yuuki-Cha this year, I went a little crazy and picked up 2 different senchas, an asamushi and this fukamushi, as well as a kamairicha. So yeah, it’ll be a while before I purchase any more Japanese greens. Anyway, I decided to check out Chiran Sencha after seeing it everywhere on my IG feed.

This is a pretty good Sencha with the deep steamed grassy flavor typical of the fukamushi style. Dry leaves have a fruity and sweet umami aroma. Wet leaf smells like a fresh ocean breeze. The tea starts off grassy with bold vegetal notes of broccoli, edamame, and asparagus. It becomes more savory as it settles, finishing with a little chlorophyll. Second steep is something like a thin matcha. Dense green, both in color and taste, and has a wheatgrass-like taste. Third steep is similar but flatter. This tea infuses quickly so best to keep steeps short to minimize bitterness. Don’t get much umami from it although for that I should probably drop the temperature. That may also help bring out more sweetness as it’s a tad savory.

Like shincha #1, this is a very good, classic tasting tea but there’s nothing really memorable about it. It’s got that in-your-face grassiness I love yet lacks complexity. Still have 85g left so I’ll continue experimenting.

Flavors: Asparagus, Broccoli, Grass, Soybean, Vegetal

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 0 min, 30 sec 3 g 5 OZ / 150 ML
ashmanra

Reading this made me realize that I know almost nothing about Japanese greens. I have had sencha – maybe four or five different ones, and genmaicha. I really have always focuses on Chinese tea.

LuckyMe

There’s a lot more diversity in Chinese greens than Japanese tea. I think Japanese green tea is more uniform overall so you have to dig a little deeper to find unique variants

ashmanra

Good to know!

Ubacat

I had this tea for 2017 and 2018. It was a good sencha but agree that it just didn’t stand out. It also didn’t fare as well as the better quality senchas for longevity shelf life.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

88

And the spring green tea marathon continues. I’ve been drinking green tea almost every day this month while my 2019 teas are still fresh and haven’t grown tired of them (yet). My shincha order arrived the other day and I wasted no time diving right in.

This is an asamushi (light-steamed) sencha that’s described as subtle and aromatic. The leaves smell like flowers and grass, not fresh cut grass but grass that’s been outside drying. Wet leaf smells like spinach and cruciferous vegetables. First steep produces a pale yellow-green liquor with floral and umami notes. It becomes brothy as the tea cools. Second infusion is a brisker cup with a greener color and a refreshing grassy flavor. By the third steep, the flavor lightens and has a faint citrus hint.

A solid but unexciting sencha. Mellow flavor and very drinkable, but nothing really pops out at me.

Flavors: Grass, Umami, Vegetal

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 1 min, 0 sec 1 g 2 OZ / 60 ML
Ubacat

I was going to order this one but changed my mind. At least it’s in the mid range price. I get upset when I pay high range and it doesn’t live up to my expectation.

LuckyMe

Jury is still out on this one as I figure out the right brewing parameters. Sometimes it doesn’t happen until I’ve gotten through half of the bag. Japanese greens are finicky like that. I picked up Chiran Sencha as well and hopefully I have better luck with it.

Ubacat

I had Chiran Sencha in 2017 and my personal note on it was it was okay, nothing more. This year I tried out Magakoro which you had last year. I’ve been trying a few different brewing parameters before I leave a review but so far it’s not living up to the high price range.

tanluwils

I had quite the marathon myself, only I’ve been gravitating more to Chinese greens this year with a couple of senchas in the mix…with one on its way now. Have you had O-cha’s organic Oku Yutaka sencha? It seems to be their most popular item.

LuckyMe

@tanluwils I haven’t ordered from O-Cha in a while but I’m definitely going to check that one out. The last sencha I bought from them was Organic Kirishima and it was ridiculously good. This year’s shincha at Yuuki-Cha was good but not great so I’m looking at other vendors for my next order.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

70

I bought this Kamairicha a few months ago. It’s the cheapest one on Yuuki-cha’s website and has good reviews so I thought I would try it out.

I’ve tried brewing this many ways but it still doesn’t appeal to me. I don’t find it a bad tea but it’s not too much like the other kamairicha’s either. This one is more savory. There’s a roasted taste to it. This tea was fired at a higher temperature than a normal kamairicha which explains why it’s so savory and roasty. For those that love roasted savory teas, that explains all the good reviews. There’s a little bit of similarity to Laoshan Green or wild jujube tea.

For me, however, I will woefully make it through this tea but wait in anticipation for the new 2019 kamairicha’s to come out.

Flavors: Roasted

LuckyMe

I’m not a fan of roasty green teas either…reminds me of the dark ages when I used to drink “Temple of Heaven” gunpowder green tea. I’ll pass on this one. Waiting for Organic Miyazaki Kamairicha Minekaori to be back in stock so I can finally order my 2019 shincha.

Ubacat

Gunpowder green- that stuff is awful. So anyway, I couldn’t wait for the kamairicha’s to get posted. I was all out of sencha for a few months so I placed an order last week. I’ll just get another one in when the kamairicha’s come in.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

This one sold out quickly last year, so I had to try it out this time around. I’d say Yuuki-cha’s description is spot on. It’s definitely not your typical Japanese sencha—less vegetal and more fruity, floral, oceanic. If chlorophyl had a named flavor, I’d add it to the list. It has a very nice body for a light-steamed sencha. The tea liquor is clear yet more green than some gyokuro I’ve had. It induces a very calming and cooling feeling. It’s perfect for summer.

For those that care, I brewed this with a gaiwan and rough-clay yakishime kyusu. The early steeps with the gaiwan are more sharp and floral—even somewhat grassy. The kyusu brewed a more balanced and aromatic cup with more distinctive mineral and moss/sweet forest notes. Taste-wise, I can’t say I prefer one brewing method over the other, aside from the kyusu being more aesthetically pleasing, which enhances the whole sencha-drinking experience, IMO.

LuckyMe

I’ve been considering this one for my shincha purchase. Glad to hear its as described.

mrmopar

What up old friend!

Ubacat

Yuuki-cha has so many different senchas. I wish they had sample sizes so I could try ALL of them but I can only drink so much when each one is 100g.

LuckyMe

@Ubacat, yes, that’s my biggest gripe with Yuuki-Cha too. It would be so awesome if they ofered samplers. I’ve been ordering from them for years and still haven’t managed to try everything because the selection is so huge.

Ubacat

But the good thing is you hardly ever get a bad tea from them.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

I’d been meaning to try this tea so when I placed a teaware order with Yuuki-Cha I added it to my cart and glad I did.

The description is apt, “The taste of this Kyobancha is clean, smooth, sweet, refreshing, and perfectly roasted without any astringency or bitterness.”

The wet leaves smell like coffee, great tea to sip on all day. First time out I prepared it in a Tokoname kyusu with boiling water.

The traditional method to prepare it is to put leaves in a kettle and bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for around 5-10 minutes.

Next time.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

80

This was an okay gyokuro. It has a nice but elusive umami flavor. You have to nail down the perfect brewing parameters which I’ve only managed to achieve a couple of times. Most of the time, it has a basic green tea flavor with savory asparagus and wheatgrass overtones. Compared to other gyokuros I’ve tried, it’s on the light side and not quite as rich and buttery. There’s a fresh oceanic aroma in the leaf which I was hoping would come through in the tea but didn’t.

While most quality gyokuros give 4-5 good steeps, this goes only half the distance leaving me feeling short changed. It also doesn’t have that nice transition from umami to grassy sencha flavor.

Those who read my tasting notes know that I often favor standard grade teas over their expensive counterparts and I’ll take a sencha any day over gyokuro. Yet for some odd reason, I keep giving gyokuro a chance. Somehow I’ve convinced myself that I just haven’t found the right one yet.

Flavors: Artichoke, Asparagus, Broccoli, Grass, Umami

Preparation
155 °F / 68 °C 1 min, 0 sec 2 g 6 OZ / 175 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

50

I’m desperate to sipdown some tea due to recent tea orders and aging teas in my cupboard.

This tea is from the Oolong group buy in 2016. I added the whole tea sample I received to my 100ml shibo so this is probably (surely) overleafed.
190F: wet leaf smells overwhelmingly of spinach, dark green
15s – woody, green, soft, green bean, creamy
20s – too strong, unpleasant green
10s – green
I don’t like this tea. Very green. I’mma go drink something else now.

Flavors: Green, Green Beans, Green Wood, Spinach

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

60

From LP Oolong group buy:
I started with 3.8 g in a 100ml gaiwan, but quickly added the rest (7g total).
195F
15s – fruit, soft, not a whole lot of taste
15s – stronger, woodier, added rest of tea to this steep, as it cools there is a chocolate flavor – influenced by reading the tea note
20s – mineral, drying, my tongue is tingly?, not a lot of taste, there is a sweeter note that emerges as it cools

I’m going to stop this session and move onto another tea. Sipdown

Flavors: Drying, Fruity, Malt, Mineral, Sweet, Wood

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

90

I’m baaak. Took a little break from tea during a week long excursion to So-Cal where I indulged in fancy California coffee. I used to be a coffee geek way back in the day before I got into tea and still appreciate a good cup o’ joe. However I can never be away from tea for too long and brought along a few tea bags filled with loose tea for easy brewing during my journey. This was one of them.

This is my second kamairicha from Yuuki-Cha. I’ve grown to love pan-fired Japanese greens which have earned a permanent spot in my regular rotation of teas. The flavor profile reminds me a lot of another favorite, Laoshan green tea. This one not only resembled Laoshan tea with its notes of soymilk but also had some Korean Sejak-like sweet corn and toasted rice along with notes of spinach, lemongrass, and green bean. It’s a little sensitive to water temperature though and can impart a grapefruit like bitterness when pushed beyond 170 F. Keeping it in cold storage for a little while had some interesting effects on the tea. There is an unexpected gaoshan like frutiness now and floral hints that weren’t there before.

I’d rank this slightly below the other two kamairichas, mainly due to the sporadic bitterness but it’s a delicious green tea in its own right and an excellent daily drinker.

Flavors: Bitter Melon, Corn Husk, Fruity, Grapefruit, Soybean

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 0 min, 30 sec 2 g 4 OZ / 110 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

88

This tea has what I would call the classic Japanese green tea flavor. It’s clean, grassy, and feels like a gentle sea breeze. There is a nice balance of green/vegetal and sweet notes with a subtle umami quality and minimal bitterness provided you don’t oversteep.

While this is an enjoyable tea, it’s not mind-blowing. This happens to be the most expensive sencha in Yuuki-Cha’s lineup but IMHO the quality doesn’t justify the price. It doesn’t resteep well – only get 2 good steeps from it – and it lacks the richness of other less pricey Japanese green teas from the same cultivar.

Flavors: Grass, Lemongrass, Ocean Breeze, Umami

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 0 min, 45 sec 2 g 5 OZ / 150 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

This one arrived two days ago. It’s a very comforting tea that, to me, differs somewhat from its description and that can be a good thing. I don’t get anything that reminds me of citrus or fruits (as described by Yuukicha) which I actually think is fine since I prefer more warming-savory flavors this time of year.

This has roasted notes possessing a savory-sweetness that reminded me of naturally sweet chestnut and acorn. This is reflected in the aromas of the wet leaf, which is much closer to deep steamed sencha, as there aren’t any intact leaves here (Yuukicha describes the leaves as mostly intact).
It’s
There’s a depth and complexity in the aroma and aftertaste that reminds me of a primordial forest. It has that certain rustic charm that I think is unique to Japanese sencha. It’s perfect for those early autumn mornings.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

95

This is a great matcha for the price if you’re looking for something above culinary grade for lattes. It holds up well to milk and sugar and also tastes pretty good when drunk straight. The smell of the powder is incredible. It has sweet smell that reminds me of rice mochi and green tea flavored pastries. When prepared in a chawan, it froths up nicely and has an vibrant green color. The taste is chlorophyll rich with an assertive vegetal-wheatgrass flavor and a slight chalkiness. It’s got a greenish quality to it that feels like drinking a forest.

But straight matcha isn’t really my thing and the real test was having it in latte form. The results were downright delicious. A splash of milk and a pinch of sugar transforms it into an indulgent, confectionery like treat yet still retaining an appreciable green flavor. It also helps temper the strong flavor and brings out its natural sweetness.

Flavors: Rainforest, Sweet, Warm Grass, Umami, Vegetal

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

The tea soup is quite clear and pale green in color. Its sweet, mellow flavors were pretty straight forward and enjoyable, but there are other hidden flavors that can be picked up if the drinker sits quietly with the tea.

The light vegetal notes remind me of fresh young spinach from the garden, young fern, and alfalfa. Oceanic notes are reminiscent of roasted Korean nori. It just feels very clean and pure. The tea coats the tongue with a luxurious softness and subtle vibration as it goes down the throat, which I attribute to how well it was processed.

I haven’t had gyokuro for over a decade. Mainly due to it’s overly seaweed-like and umami-heavy flavor. I’ve definitely had pleasant oceanic notes in sencha, but the way these flavors are expressed in most gyokuro weren’t enjoyable and felt artificial to me. However, Yuuki-cha sells very reliably good green tea. Period. Thus, I thought I’d give gyokuro another try, especially since their Kirishima Gyokuro Saemidori was $13/50g at time of purchase. I wasn’t disappointed!

Nowadays, I find myself reaching for this tea more often than my young sheng pu’er. In all it’s subtly and softness, I find I don’t have to pay attention to this tea to enjoy it. It’s perfect for work as well as relaxation.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

90

Very good tea with a good price-quality ratio. Expressive green color and vegetable aroma.

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 2 g 4 OZ / 120 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

85

This is really hitting the spot today. I had relegated this tea to my work stash as it just wasn’t doing it for me. Here at the office, I don’t have the benefit of my fancy clay kyusu, gram scale, or precise water temperature. So I’m basically winging it most of the time and end up brewing more or less western style.

I reckon I brewed this close to 180 F and with a lower leaf to water ratio. It’s astonishing how dramatically different it tasted after tweaking just a few variables. Instead of the usual muddled flavor and astringency, I got an intensely sweet and floral cup. Reminded me of some high mountain oolongs. Resteeps were good, but not as amazing as the first steep.

A finicky tea that can be rewarding once you figure it out. Bumping up my rating for this one.

Flavors: Floral, Grass, Sweet

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 1 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 7 OZ / 207 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

85

It’s shincha time again. Last year I ordered a bunch of shincha samples from Yunomi but found none of them to be particularly interesting. So this year I returned to Yuuki-Cha, which has been my go-to vendor for Japanese greens for years. I had just finished a 100g bag of excellent Kirishima Asatsuyu sencha and wanted to try another medium steamed green tea. I picked up this one because of the promising reviews and because it came from a cultivar (yutaka) I hadn’t tried before.

The aroma out of the bag is deeply grassy and floral. Leaves are slightly more broken up than a normal chumushi sencha. I tried steeping this many different ways before settling on 2.5g/150ml for 45s using water at 158 F. Second and third steeps were for 15s at 168 F, and 30s at 162 F respectively. The first steep was very pale, almost colorless which is somewhat unusual for a Japanese green tea. Wet leaves had the aroma of roasted spinach. The taste was soft, lightly grassy with a hint of astringency in the finish. Pleasant but not terribly assertive. The second steep had a similar flavor but thicker and slightly more astringent. Liquor had a nice emerald green color this time. Surprisingly the last steep was the one I liked best. It was vegetal and grassy, a tad sweet without any bitterness to it. The reviews claim this is floral however that was far from my experience. Only at lower temperature with less leaf do I get a faint floral hint. But then the tea is so light it tastes like you’re drinking hot water.

I went through 25g of this tea, drinking and tinkering before I sat down and reviewed it. Despite Yuuki-Cha’s great track record, this one was kinda meh for me. It had little depth, no umami, more astringency than usual, and what little flavor there was faded quickly after the initial steep. I’ll cold steep the rest of my stash in the meantime and see if I have better luck with this year’s kamairicha.

Flavors: Astringent, Grass

Preparation
160 °F / 71 °C 0 min, 45 sec 5 OZ / 150 ML
Ubacat

I used to order from Yunomi too because they offered lots of samples but most were a miss for me. Last year I ordered from Yuuki-cha and loved every one of them so I’ve been putting stuff in my cart while waiting for some of my favourites to get posted. This one doesn’t sound to good so I’ll make sure not to get that one.

tanluwils

Yuuki-cha occupies a special place in my little tea universe. They’re reliable and always provide great value for the price. I’m definitely interested in the Kirishima Atsuyu, so I may pick up a bag.

Ubacat

tanluwils, I had that one last year and loved it. It’s on my list of favourites but I just placed an order a few days ago for some I haven’t tried. I place another when all my favourites come in.

LuckyMe

tanluwils, same here. I’ve been ordering from them ever since I starting drinking green tea and even though this one wasn’t great, their teas are overall good quality

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

86

This was my first foray into chumushi sencha and ordering from yuuki-cha for that matter. It’s a delcious unami filled tea, with the first infusion brewed at low temperature really brings it out. First steep has strong notes of unami and grassyness with bery slight astringgency. Later steeps become sweeter but a characteristic green tea taste and vegetalbleness. I’m not finding as much buttery and sweetness but all together I’ve really enjoyed this sencha and would order again.

1st – 160 for 1 minute
2nd – 170 flash
3rd – 175 for 45s
4th – 180 2 mins

Flavors: Grass, Green, Seaweed

Preparation
160 °F / 71 °C 1 min, 0 sec 3 g 5 OZ / 150 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

86

Very nice, balanced hojicha. Nice unity of subtly-roasted and fresh aromas. One hour ago I drank this hojicha: https://steepster.com/teas/lima/82328-roasted-bancha , and this one is just so much better. The roast in this one fits perfectly with the tea itself and there is a nice, pleasantly-astringent mouthfeel that adds to the body of this tea. Hoping to order this one again in next year’s shincha order.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 2 min, 0 sec 2 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Tea: Koubi Shiage, Miyazaki Oolong. From the LPT International Oolong buy.

Prep: 60cc gaiwan, 5g. 10s, 10s, 20s, 30s, etc..
Sessions with this tea: 2

Lots of chopped up leaf in this sample. Somebody else added a “freshly baked bread” note and I gotta say that’s mostly what I get. Not a dark bread and not sourdough, but like a soft wheaty loaf. It has a subtle corny sweetness, some hint of roast note but is mostly on the greener side. I spaced out my sessions a few months apart to see if the leaf calmed down any, which it seems to be better at my second session. The roast steeps out after 3 steeps, leaving behind the soft sweetness. The mouthfeel is on the thin side, but is still smooth. Mild body caffeine feeling.

Unfortunately because of how chopped this is, it steeps out very quickly. I was pushing these by the 5th infusion. This is an interesting oolong and is nice to have some oolong from another production area other than china and taiwan. The flavors are quite balanced, and the roast is well done. I honestly haven’t tried to look at the pricing so I will not comment on whether or not I think its worthwhile to buy a larger quantity.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

85

Great, very easy tea. Very forgiving. If you brew it lightly it will be subtle and refreshing; stronger brews can become nicely heavy without any bitterness or astringency. It reminds of some herbal teas, especially the earthy-grassy things in coca tea and mate.

A perfect everyday tea with character. I have to give a special mention to the color of the brew. I have never had a green tea that brews so vibrantly green, it’s really nice to look at.

Flavors: Grass, Herbs

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 45 sec 4 tsp 150 OZ / 4436 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.