Dec 21
Review: American Tea Room Fukamushi Shizuoka Shincha 2009
American Tea Room, Green Tea, Sencha Tea Add commentsDan’s Teaview Snapshot
 | "Vegetal, buttery, hearty and enduring - this rare early-harvest Sencha is a bold contender, jockeying for a spot in your stash of green teas."
|
Along comes another ridiculously-rare Sencha courtesy of American Tea Room. This particular one is uber-limited from the spring 2009 harvest. ATR purchases only the finest flush of handpicked tea and has it shipped once a year, so needless to say, there isn't much of this to go around. Fukamushi Sencha is a particular style of green tea in which the leaves are steamed for a significantly longer than a standard Sencha. The effect on the tea results mainly in richer color and taste. Moreover, "Shincha" is a term that refers to the first month's harvest of Sencha. Alas, it really is only available once a year (more or less) for about a month between April and May. This particular tea comes from Shizuoka.Inspecting the forest-green dried leaves, they are of great variety in size, from microscopic dust-like particles, up to mid-sized leaves which are flat and thin, ranging from very long to very short. A veritable cornucopia of sizes, but strictly one shape. The unmistakable aroma of Sencha permeates, but a subtle sweetness underlies the core scent.
ATR gives advance warning to "brew with care", noting that correct brewing will result in "sublime flavors" while those who oversteep will be met with "an unappealingly bitter brew." Yikes. But what are the proper parameters? After two near-failures, I have deduced that water above 180 and steep time longer than 2 minutes is not the preferred method. The astringency, bitterness, and over-the-top vegetal flavor blast are all too intense at the higher temps and steep times. However, bringing each of these elements down a notch tames the beast into a playful pup.
The liquor immediately clouds up into a cup resembling matcha. Vegetal and buttery notes are pretty much a given, as it's obvious what you are getting into here from the sight, aroma, and history of a tea like this. This is a pretty intense (and definitely flavorful) cuppa green. It may even be a bit too much for my tastes, personally, but don't let that deter you in the slightest if you are seeking this one out. This tea is hearty and enduring.
American Tea Room currently has this tea on sale -- and there is additional savings for multiple purchases as well!
Special Offer! Free shipping on all purchases over $60 from AmericanTeaRoom.com.
 |
Dan Teaviews.com Reviewer » Read more about this reviewer on Dan's profile page. » Find a list of recent posts by Dan. |
Recent Comments