Showing posts with label Organic. Show all posts

Teas Unique Korean Mt. Jiri Sejak (Second Pluck) Organic Single Estate Whole Leaf Green Tea

(Tea Provided For Review)

Origin: Mt. Jiri, Hadong County, Gyeongnam Province, Korea
Harvest: Around April 17, 2016


Dry Leaves:  The leaves are quite small and have a fairly dark blueish-green color with bits of gray towards the twisted tips. The dry leave was quite pretty, but it had quite a weak aroma. 

First Steeping
Temperature: 180oF
Brewing Time: One Minute
Aroma: Bell Pepper
Flavor: Cold Zucchini, Cold Soybeans and Brown Rice

Tasting Notes: I’ll admit I was immediately worried about how high the recommended brewing temperature was (and I am sad to admit that I did use the remainder of my sample to brew at a lower temperature and understand why Teas Unique recommends brewing at such a high temperature), but I did and it seems that most of the teas that I have sampled from Teas Unique can take quite a beating. 

The flavor was quite interesting; initially I had quite a bit of trouble describing what I tasted when my notes were entirely my feelings. I kept thinking of a hot lazy summer day and light vegetal notes. I ended up describing this tea as having a cold zucchini and cold soybean taste, but there was something crisp about it (think crisp apple), it feels like it would be perfect with a light vinegar drizzle.

Second Steeping
Temperature: 180oF
Brewing Time: One Minute and Thirty Seconds
Aroma: Bell Pepper
Flavor: Soybeans and Brown Rice

Tasting Notes: The bell pepper nose is still weak, but it is developing. While this tea still has quite a crisp taste to it, the initial zucchini taste is entirely gone.




Third Steeping
Temperature: 185oF
Brewing Time: Two Minutes
Aroma: Vegetal
Flavor: Brown Rice and Vegetal

Tasting Notes: The bell pepper nose has become either so light that I can no longer distinguish it or it has become murky, I am not sure which one I finally decided on. As for the taste, the vegetal notes from the previous steeping are still present, but no longer as developed. Although the brown rice notes that have been present since the beginning is still there, but has developed into quite an interesting thing, it sort of reminds me as a cross between a lightly roasted savory senbei and a sesame Jonbyong roll.




I am a little disappointed with this tea, I feel that I did this tea big disservice by not brewing this tea as long as Teas Unqiue recommended and using the remainder of my sample to brew at a much lower time and shorter steep, but I suppose that is what happens when one let’s follow one’s experiences before those of others. Regardless I rather liked this tea, it isn’t the punchiest of teas, but it is one of those teas that is a perfect complement to so many things.
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Yuuki-Cha Organic Miyazaki Kamairicha Tsuyobi Shiage

Origin: Hinokage Town, Nishiusuki District, Miyazaki, Kyushu, Japan
Harvest: Blend of Spring and Summer 2014


I am sad to say Yuuki-Cha is out of stock of this current tea, I did not notice before publishing this, but I decided to keep this up in case Yuuki-Cha has a 2015 version of this tea since it was a very interesting experience and I would have recommended purchasing this. It’s not often that a tea store admits they are selling a tea blended from multiple harvests or multiple regions. I do have a couple more reviews of older teas that are out of stock in my backlog that I may or may not post if I believe they are amazing. Yuuki-Cha describes this as:
Tsuyobi Shiage, meaning high flame/heat finishing, combines leaves from both the first spring harvest and the second summer harvest which are given a stronger than normal firing during the finishing stage.
The combination of the tender first flush leaves with their delicate sweetness, and the slightly coarser second flush leaves that contain good proportions of catechins gives this organic kamairicha an excellent balance of taste, while the stronger firing done on the leaves during the finishing stage really draws out some very delicious, savory, juicy, full flavors that totally enlighten the taste buds, makes for one highly aromatic green tea, and also makes it easier on the stomach, too!
At the low price we're offering this organic kamairicha for it's a really excellent green tea that you can enjoy daily, and one we would recommend without hesitation if it's a tasty, aromatic, daily organic green tea you are looking for.


Dry Leaves: The leaves are dark and curled, a little reminiscent of Korean greens more so than a typical kamairicha in my opinion. It has a rather interesting corn aroma; I could distinguish a lot of fresh green and vegetal smells, which was a little strange for a kamiricha where I normally smell the roast more than anything else. The leaves are very green and very fresh despite being almost a year old.


First Steeping
Temperature: 167oF
Brewing Time: Thirty Seconds
Aroma: Roast Corn and Peas
Flavor: Sweet peas, corn, asparagus and floral.
Tasting Notes: It feels very fresh and clean, not at all like what I expect a kamairicha to be. I was surprised at how floral this is! I was not expecting to be reminded of a Chinese green so much when trying this, but it is much more flavorful than the typical Chinese green perhaps because of the astringency. There is a bit of astringency in this, but this is a very smooth tea nonetheless.



I cannot help, be reminded of a yellow tea, I already mentioned when I was describing the dry leaves it reminded me a Korean green, perhaps because of the corn aroma, but at the same time I am starting to be reminded of a nice yellow Huoshan Huang Ya although it lacks that nutty taste many yellow teas have.


Second Steeping
Temperature: 175oF
Brewing Time: Forty-Five Seconds
Aroma: Roast Corn and Vegetal       
Flavor: Corn, Asparagus, Bamboo and Floral
Tasting Notes: The fresh pea aroma is gone instead there is a murky vegetal scent that while nice is nowhere as pleasant as the pea scent from the previous. It’s starting to feel more like a pan fried tea, still not exactly in that typical kamairicha area, but more like a Chinese green with a deep unami taste. It still is a very sweet tea even though greener flavors are starting to develop.



It is a little more astringent than the previous infusion, it’s definitely reaching the point that it may turn some people off, but I don’t mind astringency in my tea and it has some nice clean flavors.

Third Steeping
Temperature: 180oF
Brewing Time: One Minute
Aroma: Roast Corn and Vegetal
Flavor: Corn, Asparagus, Bamboo, Floral and Coconut
Tasting Notes: Pretty much the same as the last infusion, the astringency is growing and still very sweet, but there is a new coconut taste that was rather strange. I did not necessarily find it a bad taste, but it did clash with the vegetal notes. I do not think it detracts from the tea since it is a nice contrast to the dark vegetal notes, but I did enjoy the fourth and following infusions more than this because I was not as startled by the coconut taste.



I did get another six or so steepings out of the leaves, but there was nothing as out of place as the coconut flavor that suddenly appeared. While this tea is no longer available I purchased this for $6.48 for 100g and that was an amazing deal, if Yuuki-Cha stocks a new version of this tea I’d definitely check it out. While it does not feel to be the typical kamairicha it is rather interesting.

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