311 Tasting Notes

60

A nice straightforward green tea.

Preparation
160 °F / 71 °C 0 min, 30 sec

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89

Another wonderful series of infusions today. This tea just keeps giving and giving.

The only problem I have with it is safely breaking up the very dense brick of tea.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 30 sec

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76

Another lovely series of infusions. Sweet, mellow, vegetal, just right for the evening.

Preparation
160 °F / 71 °C 0 min, 30 sec

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86
drank Okuyutaka Shincha by Yuuki-cha
311 tasting notes

The leaves are exceptionally sweet smelling, and the longest of the beautiful leaves of the three shinchas I’ve tried so far (Honoyama and Tenryu Misakubo). The liquor, as before, is bright, light and beautiful.

5 g leaf, 5 oz kyusu, water 160 degrees x 30", 15", 30".

Preparation
160 °F / 71 °C 0 min, 30 sec

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86
drank Okuyutaka Shincha by Yuuki-cha
311 tasting notes

First impression is bright, light, sweet, vegetal, very much to my taste. No time today for a full formal note, but it may be a while before I get to that.

First infusion 30" 160°F/71°C with 4.8 g tea in a 5 oz (150mL) kyusu, 2nd infusion 15 seconds at 168°C/76°C, 3rd infusion 1 minute at 135 °C/57°C (cooling too much in Kettle, got careless). All delicious.

Preparation
160 °F / 71 °C 0 min, 30 sec

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88

This has been a bit of a breakthrough tea for me. I first tried it as a sample and was put off by the bitterness. Then I tried it again as part of a tasting group and worked out a way to enjoy it: I prepare it like a green tea—lower water temps. The bitterness is still there around the edges but I slurp this one up, avoiding tasting right with the tip of my tongue, and get the wonderful sweet rich flavor in the back of my throat, a little smoky, a touch earthy, and go through infusion after infusion.

I bought a beeng of this one because I want to age it and follow the changes to see how the bitter flavors change with time. I am not working with selected temp & humidity conditions, nor did I buy multiple beengs—just playing with the idea of aging more than anything else.

I like to give this one a quick boiling water flash rinse, then let sit to hydrate with the water that clings to the chunk of cake, about 2-3 grams in my small gaiwan, infusing about 60-75 mL, while the water in the kettle cools to the desired 170-180 degrees. Then, a bunch of short infusions, 10" or less at first, up to 30+" by the time I’ve done a dozen or two.

I’ve even done this one as a bulk brewing for my thermos, to share with colleagues at work during the afternoon, and gotten a good response. The hard part will be keeping enough intact for some semi-meaningful aging, to watch the young sheng turn into mature puerh.

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 0 min, 15 sec

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77

This is probably the 4th time I’ve brewed some of this wonderfully delicate tea, but I goofed in a way that probably limited the potential of the infusions significantly: I used a too low leaf to water ratio, and I was let the water cool too long before the infusions—too much attention to the camera setup as I was working on photographing what I was doing. In spite of that, the tea was good!

Leaves are twisted, large, green to black, with a light sweet scent.

2.2 grams of leaf into my 6 oz glass pot, because the leaves are so pretty as they unfurl.

1st infusion 175°F/79°C 30", sweet, hay, floral, but too light, should have been longer.
2nd infusion water closer to 160°F/71°C (let it cool too long, misjudged), let it go nearly 2 minutes, again a very light, sweet, floral infusion.
3rd infusion 175°F/79°C several minutes, similar—light, sweet, floral.
4th and 5th infusions were with water just off the boil, several minutes’ steep, and were still lovely.

I’d try water closer to 195 and 30" steep with 3-4 grams of leaf for the same pot next time around; or 2 grams in my 2 oz gaiwans, same temp/time recs as above.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 30 sec

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Bio

I’ve been drinking tea for 30 years, but only bought 2 brands of 2 different teas for most of that time. It took me almost 30 years to discover sencha, puerh, and green oolongs. Now I am making up for lost time.

I try to log most of my teas at least once, but then get lazy and stop recording, so # times logged should not be considered as a marker of how much a particular tea is drunk or enjoyed.

Also debunix on TeaForum.org and TeaChat.

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