Yuuki-Cha Sayamakaori Shincha

I am sorry for the delay in tea reviews, I have been trying to finish up shincha I've had open for far to long due to vacation and the cold I came down with in June. So now that those are running dangerously low, I can start to open up shincha that has been stockpiled, and I literally mean stockpiled, as I have never had so much of a supply in one type of tea before.

The tea is a nice bright yellowish green with a very powerful aroma of fresh cut grass and steamed vegetables. Perhaps most surprising is the hints of cabbage coming through in the aroma.

I do not know if it is my fondness for Hagi yaki that makes this appealing to me, but I find it rather comforting and rustic, that when brewing Asamushi Sencha in Hagi yaki I usually get tiny little particles of leaf in the bottom of the cup. I know that bothers some people, but I absolutely love the simplicity of it, almost as if to show yes this brewed with real leaves!

This tea presents itself in a very nice manner, straight forward, clean and not trying to hide its identity. While there is no taste which jumps out at you, nor is it exceptionally broth like, but it asserts itself with a salad like flavor, that is cool and refreshing.

Temperatures drift even higher
letting old friends go unsteeped,
so I turn now to greener leaves.

--Adam Yusko