Gyokuro Karigane Sakamoto Green Tea

Advent Tea 2023
A beautiful tea in appearance. Some say that the Chinese value the look more than the Japanese do but I highly appreciate the vibrant greens. This one, for example, with the contrast of light and dark greens is quite a joy to behold. The aroma is unsettling. I can’t say I like it. The same went for the flavor at first but it changed. The creamy mouth feel is quite nice. Very vegetal in flavor. Fresh-cut grass and corn husks. Like with other Japanese greens, I find I am enjoying this one more as the water cools down. There is a sweet grass note that comes out that I am finding quite enjoyable.

As much I love jumping around and trying new teas, I’ve gained a higher appreciation for those who stick to one terroir or country. When your palate sticks with one long enough you can spot the subtle differences from year to year.

Thanks to Nio Tea for providing this sample, which is my first stem tea. I’ve been curious whether using stems affects the taste or longevity of a tea, and now I can find out! I steeped 5 g of leaf in 150 ml of 140F water for 60, 20, 20, 30, 40, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry aroma is of squash, spinach, grass, and florals. The first steep has soft notes of squash, spinach, grass, hay, butter, and umami, with a thick body and grassy aftertaste. I get kale, squash, spinach, butter, umami, minerals, and some floral hints (narcissus?) in the next couple steeps. Subsequent steeps are sweeter, more earthy, and less green, with that thick body and some dryness.

This tea is kind of similar to the Gyokuro Cha Meijin that I had a few days ago. They share the squash, thick body, and floral hints, though this tea is softer and less intense. It lasted for fewer steeps and was a bit more grassy, which is possibly due to the stems.

If you possibly still need more tea after this weekend, Nio’s Black Friday sale is going on till November 30. You can get up to 69% off and an additional 10% discount with the code LEAFHOPPER10OFF (I get a small commission).

Also, I probably should have asked this earlier, but is it okay to post these discounts on Steepster? The samples were given to me for free, but I do get a commission if people use the code. I want to be as transparent as possible.

Nio Teas Advent Calendar 2022 – Day 6

This has a lot of leaves for a stem tea. It tastes like a somewhat lighter gyokuro to me. It’s not quite as intense as gyokuro, but it has a similarly rich steamed spinach and kabocha-esque flavor with a slightly thinner texture. Starting in the middle of the sip, there’s quite a lot of nuttiness which is nice, alongside light and sweet hay notes.

Second steep is much lighter in body and has a fresher, grassier flavor to it, along with a sparkling mineral finish. I still catch some hints of nuts and hay, but they’re much fainter than the first steep, and they’re joined by a nori-like seaweed note. Very light astringency at the end of the sip as well. A touch of floral perhaps?

Yummy tea, it’s nice to have that smooth squashy gyokuro flavor without it being quite as intense and heavy. Not knocking gyokuro at all, but you don’t always want that much oomph in a tea. :)

The first time I had this tea, I was blown away by how much flavor it had for a stem tea. With most stem teas, the stems take away from the flavor, making it less intense and less savory, but in this karigane, the stems only add to the flavor. This tea is almost like a gyokuro, but instead of a powerful savory flavor, you instead get a nice light fruitiness. When you cold brew the tea, it takes on a beautiful milky color and the flavor is incredibly sweet and fruity. It’s teas like this that I can drink all day!

Here is the link of the tea:
https://nioteas.com/products/gyokuro-karigane-sakamoto-sakamoto-green-tea#what-does-this-gyokuro-karigane-taste-like