March 2022 Sipdown Challenge – A green tea
Good start to a chilly and wet March morning.
Made two ways, in a mug and in a black Taiwan-made clay pot.
In the mug, it tastes like what I want from genmaicha. Good balance of moderately vegetal-grass seed green tea and popped rice, some astringency to clear the palate while eating.
First steep in the clay pot, the tea is really silky and smooth with a juicy swallow. Light mineral-grass seed flavor underneath that comforting toasted rice. Buttery sencha taste briefly appears in the aftertaste. Second steep, the astringency comes though lightly. Fruity finish almost like kiwi-banana. Then comes the lemony-sour aftertaste and with it a drying mouthfeel. I feel some pine cooling and warm spice in my chest. Third steep with boiling water — not so good. Reminds me of the essence of that numbing gel on a q-tip the dentist uses before injecting novocaine. But my chest feels instantly spiced and warm. That makes the third steep worth it to me.
Thanks for sharing, Kawaii!
Flavors: Astringent, Banana, Butter, Caramelized Sugar, Drying, Grass Seed, Juicy, Kiwi, Lemon, Mineral, Pine, Silky, Smooth, Spicy, Tangy, Toasted Rice, Toasty, Vegetal
