Kurihara Tea #14: Oku Yame Black Tea

Tea type
Black Tea
Ingredients
Black Tea Leaves
Flavors
Bark, Grass, Sap, Seaweed, Bread, Dried Fruit, Malt, Honey, Grapes, Plum, Astringent, Biting, Creamy, Hay, Honeysuckle, Jam, Musty, Sweet, Toast
Sold in
Bulk, Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Cameron B.
Average preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec 12 oz / 355 ml

Currently unavailable

We don't know when or if this item will be available.

From Our Community

1 Image

1 Want it Want it

1 Own it Own it

6 Tasting Notes View all

  • “This tea has a typical profile for Japan blacks: grass, seafood, bark, tree-sap astringency, and a hint of sweetness. Overall, it is mild and smooth, with equally mild but lasting aftertaste. There...” Read full tasting note
    84
  • “I got a sample of this in my swap with Cameron B. I haven’t had the chance to try many Japanese blacks, so this was an exciting sample for me. It did indeed have an unusual flavor profile. There’s...” Read full tasting note
    82
  • “I definitely get notes of dried fruit, baked bread and malt with this tea. However, they are all subdued, fairly well balanced. I am not liking it quite as much as the Japanese black I reviewed...” Read full tasting note
    84
  • “My latest sample. It smells nicely malty, and somewhat like dried fruit. The flavour is more baked bread, and honey. Goes nicely with my anime.” Read full tasting note
    84

From Yunomi

Japan is certainly not known for its black tea, but innovative and dedicated farmers are learning to produce delicious leaf with sencha. And the black tea leaf created by the Kurihara family, one of Japan’s best at creating a premium green tea called gyokuro, introduces a new dimension to black teas. Meant to be drunk without sugar, the light taste is produced precisely because it uses tea leaves that are generally considered perfect for sencha green tea. We recommend pairing this black tea with your favorite Japanese dish.

About Yunomi View company

Company description not available.

6 Tasting Notes

84
226 tasting notes

This tea has a typical profile for Japan blacks: grass, seafood, bark, tree-sap astringency, and a hint of sweetness. Overall, it is mild and smooth, with equally mild but lasting aftertaste.

There is nothing wrong about this tea but also nothing really impressive.

Flavors: Bark, Grass, Sap, Seaweed

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

82
333 tasting notes

I got a sample of this in my swap with Cameron B. I haven’t had the chance to try many Japanese blacks, so this was an exciting sample for me. It did indeed have an unusual flavor profile. There’s sweetness, malt, and notes of honey—so far, so standard. But there’s also hay, verging on grassiness, which I’d associate more with a white or green tea. There’s a bit of astringency, though not too much. I can’t say I fell in love with this tea, or that it’s something I feel the need to stock up on, but it’s always nice to get the chance to try something different.

boychik

I loved it. But it’s expensive. I made it gongfu and using their instructions side by side. Gongfu was so much better.

greenteafairy

Ah, I just steeped it western-style. I love samples, but the downside is there’s often not enough to experiment with different steeping methods.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

84
1758 tasting notes

I definitely get notes of dried fruit, baked bread and malt with this tea. However, they are all subdued, fairly well balanced. I am not liking it quite as much as the Japanese black I reviewed yesterday from a different brand. I think Yunomi says this tea is meant to be drank without sugar. It tasted good without sugar but I added it anyway. This is, like the other Japanese black from yesterday, a bit like a mild Sri Lankan breakfast tea.

I brewed this once in an 16oz Teavana Perfect Tea Maker/Gravity Steeper with 3 tsp leaf and 200 degree water for 3 min.

Flavors: Bread, Dried Fruit, Malt

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec 3 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

84
687 tasting notes

My latest sample. It smells nicely malty, and somewhat like dried fruit. The flavour is more baked bread, and honey. Goes nicely with my anime.

Flavors: Bread, Dried Fruit, Honey, Malt

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

80
3986 tasting notes

My free “press” samples from Yunomi.us came! I was very excited to see a black tea, as I’ve been curious about Japanese black teas but have never tried one. The leaves are small and very fragile-looking, and they’re curled up into little loops and ‘u’ shapes. The color is a rich dark reddish brown with some grey in it. Dry, it smells like musty hay with some malt and honey mixed in. I steeped about 1.5 teaspoons of leaf for 3 minutes at 200 degrees.

Once brewed, this tea smells quite malty with an interesting almost grassy note to it, accompanied by grain and honey. The flavor here is kind of hard to describe, especially since it seems to change a lot during the sip. But I’m going to try to describe it anyway! Initially, it tastes like musty hay and is quite brisk (I think I may have overleafed a tad as at one point it’s almost bitter). At the same time, there’s a bit of a grassy quality and some astringency. Toward the middle of the sip, the flavor transforms into this luscious and creamy bread amazingness! Lovely sweet, crusty bread with creamy honey over the top and a touch of mild fruity preserves. The aftertaste is all creamy bread and honey, and it lingers for some time. I am very curious to see how this tea turns out using an actual teaspoon of tea instead of my heaping variety. I might try a lower temperature too, as the packet recommends 195 degrees.

Flavors: Astringent, Biting, Bread, Creamy, Dried Fruit, Grass, Hay, Honey, Honeysuckle, Jam, Malt, Musty, Sweet, Toast

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.