Every quarter, I receive my Obubu Tea Club box. Last month, it came with a tea I hadn’t tried before, so I wanted to share it!
Description: “Spring tea with delightful umami and pleasant fragrance.”
Review: The tea club is my way of supporting the farm after being an intern in 2018! My most recent box had similarities with last year winter’s box such as including Obukucha and Toshikoshi Soba. Therefore, I was happy to see a new tea I had not tried before; a sencha!
The dry leaves were primarily of long straight deep forest green coloured leaves with some lighter leaves. It had a strong fresh grass smell. After infusing, the olive leaves reminded me of cut grass on a wet day.
Steep 1 (1 minute, 60°): The liquor was a pale yellow colour with light vegetal taste. It had a thicker consistency with some drying at the back of the throat
Steep 2 (30 seconds, 80°): The darker yellow liquor developed a stronger vegetal taste with some lingering nuttiness, mild astringency at the back of the mouth
Steep 3 (20 seconds, 95°): A nice burst of umami that isn’t overpowering, following by grassy notes. The liquor is more of a lime green colour with little hairs floating at the top of the liquor
Overall, I have to say this would be a nice entry sencha. Even for myself, it took some time to develop a liking for umami flavour, so this tea has just a hint. Like many Japanese green teas, start with a lower temperature and work your way up. This tea can over brew and become astringent (3.5/5 rating).
- Type: Green tea
- Origin: Japan, Wazuka
- Caffeine: Unknown
- Ingredients: Green tea
- Company: Kyoto Obubu Tea Farms
The question of the post: Do you like umami?