Fukamushi Sencha Supreme Shincha

Tea: Fukamushi Sencha Supreme Shincha
Vendor: O-cha
Price: $22.95 / 100g
Source: Shizuoka, Japan
Vendor Description: Fukamushi Sencha "Supreme" (Current stock is shincha) - A first rate, first flush green tea. Harvested from the first round of 2008 young spring leaves, this green tea comes from Shizuoka Prefecture. If you like an "intense" green tea, this is the tea for you. Very green and very thick. More astringent than most or our green teas, the taste of this fukamushi sencha remains on the palate for an extended time. As this is a very bold green tea, be sure to not brew too hot, for too long, or with too much leaf. As with all of our loose leaf green teas, freshly packaged in nitrogen filled bags.

Leaf Mass: 5.04g

Leaf: The leaf consisted of a lot of smaller pieces with a few larger leaves in it. This was somewhat expected of a fukamushi though, the small pieces tend to be characteristic of this kind of tea. The leaf seemed to have two main colors to it, a very dark rich green and a lighter paler green.

1st Infusion Parameters: 160 F, 6oz, 60s

1st Infusion: The liquor had a light yellow green color to it. It was slightly murky which seemed light for a fukamushi. Although it seemed about right for a first infusion. The flavor was very sweet and thick, it hinted at flavors of grains. There was definitely a strong grassy component to it. There was no astringency or bitterness, and the flavor tailed off into a long thick aftertaste. It had a kind of long flat flavor which brought to mind the thickness of the flavor.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 175F, 10s

2nd Infusion: This infusion had the characteristic fukamushi dark murky green color. The infusion was very surprisingly dark though, moreso than most other fukamushi that I have tried. This infusion had a light bitterness to it, and the thickness to it was gone. The flavor was surprisingly light considering the appearance of it.

3rd Infusion Parameters: 180F, 60s

3rd Infusion: This was another very murky and dark green infusion. The flavor was again very light despite the long infusion time and warmer water. There was a light astringency to it, and it seems as though the flavor had started to let go already.

Rating: 8/10

Conclusion: This tea had a very interesting flavor to it, the most interesting part was the first infusion with it's thick flavor and long aftertaste. I was a bit disappointed at the strength of the second and third infusions. Had I had more of this tea I could have experimented a bit more to try to unlock it's secrets, but alas I only had a small amount.