Tea: Shizu no Kaoru ShinchaVendor: Zencha
Source: Japan
Leaf: The leaf consists of very small pieces, much like a fukamushi. It has a light sweet aroma. Some of the tea consists of very thin needles, although they are not necessarily the straightest of pieces.
1st Infusion: This tea has the characteristic shincha bright luminescent green color to it. The tea is murky, which is not surprising considering the appearance of the leaf. It has a light and sweet aroma, but the aroma hints at something else which I cannot really place. The flavor is very light and clear. It is light bodied and has no astringency. It feels smooth as it glides across the tongue and has a very clean feeling in the mouth. There are slight hints of grassiness to the flavor.2nd Infusion: This infusion was a darker green and very murky. The aroma was much more traditional sencha. The flavor is very light and open feeling with a very light body to it. There is a light bitterness and a light astringency.
Rating: 10/10
Conclusion: This tea is very light and delicate. It is well balanced with a light sense of bitterness and astringency. It is a very good example of a very good shincha. I can't wait to see if the batch from next year is going to be as good as this one.
Wow, ten for ten. Either that is one spectacular tea or you've finally gone off the deep end! Judging from the lovely photo, I would guess it's the former. I can't remember if you got to try O-Cha's Kirameki, but if you did, do you find this similar?
ReplyDeleteI didn't have a chance to try the Kirameki this year. The shizu no kaoru was quite good though, it was a very well balanced shincha and I can't remember for sure, but I think it was around 15-20 dollars shipped for 100g so it was a very good quality:price ratio.
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