2 Tasting Notes
Being from Alabama, I grew up assuming the only kind of tea was black tea in a bag that you poured boiling water over and then added enough sugar to kill a large cat. I call it liquid diabetes. I am fortunate enough to be a curious soul, so after some research I ordered my first tea from dens tea. At first, I didn’t know how to make it. I was pouring boiling water on sencha, silly me. Eventually, i figured it out. It turns out my favorite is the fukamushi sencha. The extra steaming applied during the fukamushi process creates a tea leaf that requires very little steeping to extract a deep, emerald broth with a vegetal but not overly grassy brew. The umami is there along with seaweed but with a surprising sweetness. I drink it all day. I get three steepings per serving. I use 3/4 teaspoon to 6oz water. I do my first steeping at 170 F, then 175, finishing at 180. That’s a little picky but just don’t use boiling water! Also, the fukamushi type teas only require the shortest steeping. For the 1st steep I go between 30 seconds to a 1 minute. 2nd steeping, 1-2 minutes, 3rd steeping 3-5 minutes. I can even do a 4th steeping! I collect the spent tea for the day in a mason jar with cold water in the fridge and let it sit overnight. It makes a great, light, decaf, iced tea.
Flavors: Floral, Grass, Honeysuckle, Ocean Breeze, Seaweed, Sweet, Umami, Vegetal
Preparation
Quite bitter with first infusion at 170 degrees. Next day, I did a 10 second rinse, then used cold water and a overnight cold steep. Much improved. Color was less cloudy after the quick rinse. Bitterness decreased and sweetness increased. Good everyday ice tea.
