A Treasure Trove of Japanese Teas

Last Saturday I attended the event "A Treasure Trove of Japanese Teas" hosted by Northwest Tea Festival, Heather Porter of Hanamichi Blog, and Cinnabar of Phoenix Tea.

The Luminaries at Work

 

Some of the incredible teaware used during this event:

Heather has been to Japan many times and has some great tea connections. At the event, Heather told us charming stories from her latest trip to Japan while Cinnabar brewed and distributed perfect cups of tea. Below are my tasting notes on the 8 wonderful teas presented.

Kuradashi Sencha
This first tea was light, refreshing, buttery, and sweet. A great start to the tasting.

Kamigokoro kabusecha
From a family in Uji that has made tea since the 1500's. It was buttery, grassy, with a slight artichoke note. Super delicious.

Baisen Hiirecha
This tea had a rich toasty note. Very hearty and brothy compared to the first two. Loved it!

Tougenkyou
This is a super fragrant tea. It's a little floral and also crisp, clean and brothy. It was my favorite tea at the event!

Harigane Hojicha
This Hojicha was strong and fragrant. Most guests really loved it but I wasn't too into it. It was good, but I got a slight burnt popcorn aftertaste.

Gyokuro
My second favorite tea at the event! It was like drinking pearls (in a good way :). Very brothy, nutty, and luscious.

Fukucha (good luck tea) sencha
This tea was cheerful and bright. I liked it, but compared to the other greens we tasted it was lacking complexity for me.

Wakocha (black tea)
I'm very into this tea! It's peachy, and floral with a note that reminded me of an heirloom tomato. I would drink this often if I could.

 

ありがとう Heather and Cinnabar!

Hojicha Spearmint Iced Tea

Hojicha is a toasted Japanese tea. I like it, it makes a nice hot beverage, but I seldom crave it. I drink plenty of hot tea everyday... but on those particularly warm and sunny days (a rarity here in Seattle) I sometimes dabble in iced tea too and Hojicha is one of my favorites.

Back in 2001, my first year as a tea seller, my tea mentor Donna Fellman suggested I add a big pinch of dried spearmint leaves to Hojicha. I thought it tasted wonderful and have made it at least once every summer since.

Today I tried it with 5 fresh spearmint leaves from my yard. First I ripped up and muddled the spearmint in a jar. Then I steeped them with a rounded teaspoon of hojicha leaves for ~5 minutes with near boiling water. After it cooled, I poured it over ice. The result, garnished with a spearmint sprig, was divine.

I feel like this would make a nice ice tea to serve at a summer garden party or barbecue.