TGFOP Tea Reviews (c) Silverneedles est.2005

Fukamushi Sencha Supreme .O-cha.com

part of my “In search of fuka” …

Tea Notes> Green Tea> Sencha (for more)

O-cha.com (review)(product link)  $22.95/3.5oz, 6.5/oz = $104/lb. i sure seem to be getting rich …

Dry leaf: green sencha, not all broken (as fuka is said to be, during manufacture), see pics, some leaf is quite long. (i’ve been drinking slowly out of this for at least a month) /Opening the bag in the first weeks i got a strong fresh  delicious sencha, was like wow! (thats what you get ordering straight from Japan, and good vendors = yum.)

…. ….    … ……………. 2g 4oz …. ….    … ……infusing…

#1 2min ….. ….    … …… #2 2min more …. ….    … ……2g wet leaf

#1   70C 2min

Flavor: good flavor, quite strong tho not in your face, good body, medium vegetal, some “spinach” (what i used to call “egg”. yah, i know, but hey, eh, oh well, getting there.), good aftertaste with tannin coating mouth, not harsh, some sweetness already!

#2   reinfusion ~60C 2min

Flavor: hmmm, some watery, low flavor, possibly extracted most in #1, tannins in mouth are more aparent, tho not bitter or harsh.

4g 4oz

4g in improvised scoop

#1   70C 1 min

Flavor: oh yum strong ass fuka! sencha sencha high (well also from the heat of the liquor makes me a little happy/agitated). sweet on the tongue, vegetal… gentle strongness… after coming down from the high, maybe the flavor strength is still medium. good lasting sweet aftertaste.

#2   60c 3 min

Flavor: now there’s some overinfusion here, tinge of strong tannin a bit harsh, not bitter.

Overall: very good (especially when fresh).

Premium Fukamushi Sencha Maki .DensTea.com

Tea Notes> Green Tea> Sencha (for more)

Den’s Tea.com (review)(product link)  $11/2oz, also at $85/lb.

Leaf: looks like sencha to me 😛

Method: 4oz water @ 72C + 4g leaf x ~1min (also been drinking it at work with many variations of leaf, time, water temp). Usually do 3 infusions from it.

Flavor: well, first you get the fuka liquor which is that green opaque full of stuff liquid. then you enjoy a nice taste of grassness like in sencha but more “dense” and thicker with that green tannin on the tongue. there is i’d say low  astringency. in the back of throat sometimes i feel a tiny something towards bitter but that could be overinfusion. sometimes depending on strength i also get some fleeting sweet aftertaste feeling. To me any hint of yellow in the color suggests overinfused or something wrong with the leaf.

Overall: good fuka sencha. It has done well in many conditions, resists ok to overinfusion. not my first one so cant say i’m overwhelmed or excited after drinking it, but i can say i’ve been missing it if i dont have any … tho that could be the tea addiction…

Sencha Fuka-midori .DensTea.com

Tea Notes> Green Tea> Sencha (for more)

Den’s Tea.com (review)(product link)  $6.5/2oz, also at $50/lb, nice price.

Leaf: looks like sencha to me 😀, maybe i’d say there isnt much long leaf in here ?

Method: cupwan, gaiwan, mug. mostly 4g in 4oz.

4g…………………………………….. + 4oz & ….. 1min = ……………………………………..&& . . 2min =
this color correction is starting to annoy me, but the liquor color seems right, even tho that paper is off…

Flavor:

2g/ 4oz/ ?? temp (1/3 20C water + 2/3 93C)/ think i did less than 1 min.

sort of mild, not really watery, some flavor, green, etc

4g/ 40z/ ??temp/ 2min x 2

good but still i’d say medium strength flavor, astringency low

4g/ 4oz/ ??temp/ 1min, 2min (See pics above)

#1- 1 min: good flavor, still “medium” strength, but i like this infusion.
#2- 2 min: some astringency is present but its sort of a mild green tannin + a sweetness?/”roundness” to it = its not harsh, not unpleasant!

some aftertaste, not bad.

liquor is cloudy – i thought only fukamushis are like that, tho this wasnt as cloudy as the fuka i had.

wet leaf tastes neutral, not bad. looks like some leaf stems are included.

Overall: its a pleasant tea, easy to drink,  sort of a “everyday” feel to it, mild-medium flavor, low astringency.

Makinohara Sencha .Ito En

Tea Notes> Green Tea> Sencha (for more)

ItoEn NY Store (review)(product link)  $8/2oz, also at $64/lb.

compared side be side to Chiran Kanayamidori

Method: 4g leaf, 4oz water at 65C (Makino got around 61C), ~ 1 min.

Leaf: Japanese green tea, with a yellow tint to it. Chiran is dark green. (cant compare leaf pics well as its different days one with more direct sun)

4g. then Middle pic is Makino Left, Chiran Right

Liquor: Chiran is green, Makino has a hint of yellow.

Flavor: there’s the main green sencha-fuka thick greenness, but compared to Chiran Kanayamidori fuka this Makino has more bitter “tannins”? (yes the bitter kind, not just regular concentrated stuff), and is less flavorful. Chiran more pleasant – more enjoyable “flavor tannins”, and is “sweet” compared to Makino.
(another take into consideration: makinohara’s water was a couple degrees cooler). So even if lowering water temps or shortening infusion i dont think i’ll like the Makino as there isn’t much flavor to it. (yup, tried ~50C the bitter stuff still in there).

Overall: not bad, but the bitter is not good 4 me. it’ll probably be just fine at work where i just drink whatever and dont notice, but at home with no distractions this wont do.

Chiran Kanayamidori .Ito En

Tea Notes> Green Tea> Sencha (for more)

ItoEn NY Store (review)(product link)  $11/2oz, also at $88/lb.

i went to the Itoen store about 2 weeks ago, this how it went down:
me to the white man behind the counter: YO ! i wan somma youz fukamushis.
he: fu…ck..a..mooshy? *confused look*
me: yea, sencha fukamooshy, you kno, like deep steamed or somfin’
main lady gives him a stabbing look: chiran and makinohara
he still confused turns to fridge behind. fumbles and grabs the item, opens it and allows me to stick my schnoz and take a whiff, grab a pinch and make a sale.
well i guess he learned what a fuka is…

Leaf: might be japanese green tea … IT IS !!!

pics not whitebalanced or corrected so colors are a bit whack (esp last one)

Method: 4oz water @ 70C + 4g leaf x ~1min. Usually do 3 infusions in day to day drinking.

Liquor is darker than Dens fuka maki(not easily compared with my pics). Stuff in liquor settles quicker than Den’s clearing the liquor.

Flavor: drank this one right after Dens fuka maki (well ive been drinking from all the senchas for a couple weeks now). More “body” to the liquor. More green flavor, with some variation in flavor/sensation. Much more tannin coating the mouth; more enjoyable, it has, like, a personality. (to take into consideration that I also added like .5 oz water to the result because the leaf sucked up more water than Dens.) Astringency low. More aftertaste.
/* Seinfeld
Attendant: More anything ?
Jerry: More everything !
*/

Overall: very good imho, more bang for the same buck.