Kuradashi Sencha

Tea: Kuradashi Sencha
Vendor: Hibiki-An
Source: Uji, Japan

About this tea: This tea was a limited time offering from Hibiki-an. Kuradashi Sencha is an intentionally aged sencha. Normally the aged tea is a gyokuro producing a Kuradashi Gyokuro. Instead with this tea it was an aged sencha. The sencha was aged for 18 months in a storehouse.

Leaf: The leaf for this tea had a rich uniform dark green color to it. Most of the leaves were good sized leaves and there was almost now powder to it. This suggests that this is probably a chumushi style sencha. There was an interesting woody light aroma to this tea leaf.

1st Infusion Parameters: 5g, 5 oz, 170F, 1 min

1st Infusion: The tea has a light green hue with a hint of yellow to it. The aroma feels smooth and balanced. The flavor is exactly matching the aroma, smooth and balanced. It is mild with no bitterness or astringency. It is slightly sweet, but the main aspect that comes to mind when tasting is how smooth of a sencha this feels.

2nd Infusion Parametsrs: 170F, 1 min

2nd Infusion: This is a darker and murkier yellow hue this time. The leaves have expanded nice and fully. The aroma is very sweet and mellow. There is a hint of woodiness similar to a kukicha, but more refined and mellow. There is a light bitterness paired with a rich sencha flavor. It provides a very smooth flavor again that is well balanced with the bitterness. There is a heavy flavor in the mid-end portion of the flavor.

Rating: 10/10

Conclusion: When the kuradashi sencha first was released on their website I was dubious as to if this was something that created an interesting product or if it was just a ploy to sell more tea. It turns out this is quite the interesting product indeed. The aging process seems to produce a very mellow flavor out of the tea, and this causes the tea to be very smooth and mellow. I very much enjoyed this tea and look forward to it again next year.