Morning brew - Sencha Oku-Kirishima
Today I am brewing a tea that was my introduction to high-grade tea, specifically Japanese green teas. Its leaves are tiny, neatly rolled, cut needles with a nice deep green colour. The smell has hints of a ripe pineapple that struck me when I opened the bag. Some nutty background and noticeable fresh spinach leaves came afterwards.
1st brew
The texture of this tea is always something that keeps captivating me, how such delicate, complex flavours melt together with this deep rich, coating textures. The flavour was light and enjoyable, smelling some tropical fruit ripeness in the wet leaves together with fresh spinach, such a combination.
The liquor had more presence of this fresh spinach notes, very subtle umami coming through, perhaps forecasting what was to come. The aftertaste of the brew left me with a coating on my tongue. Found myself indulging in it, delaying the next sip and allowing it to "seep in" all its nuance while listening to the occasional seagull passing by on this fresh, breezy morning.
2nd brew
I dropped the brewing time by a few seconds this time. Once the leaves are soaked, I find myself enjoying them more like this. The brew was noticeably brighter and greener, with a more profound smell coming from the leaves. Their aroma was sweeter, still with some fresh spinach notes, but developing other aromatics like herbs and some ripeness like a stone fruit.
The brew was taken over by more umami presence, with a surprising fresh minty/eucalyptus-like aftertaste. Lingering in the mouth and tingling my nose as I exhaled its vapours. These kinds of warm and refreshing notes were the ones that got me into "drinking" tea. I find this kind of tea, triggering sensations in the body, fascinating. As much as the body and flavour of the tea, the human body's reaction to it is a clear indication for me of what a great experience is.
3rd brew
The refreshing aftertaste notes are still here, maybe moving toward being a part of the drink than the lingering finish of it. The liquor still maintains this soft bright green colour, the flavour is sweet, and it reminds me of a mochi sweet. It's not sugary or fruit sweet, but something more subtle. The aftertaste of the brew is clean, without astringency, but presenting subtle dark leafy green notes that add another layer on top of the present freshness.
4rth brew
From the fourth brew onwards, I tend to increase the brew times, increasing a couple of extra degrees to the water too. This time, even though the presence of umami is starting to wane, you can feel it lingering on the brew. It presents a very smooth body with a very pleasing texture. The freshness has moved to be fully present in the main flavour notes creating an interesting combination of smoothness, freshness, and some umami and dark leafy greens notes.
I enjoyed this Sencha Oku-Kirishima, one of the first-ever Japanese teas that I was introduced to me many years ago. And I am grateful to be able to enjoy it year after year.
29 Oct 2022 - Added the post to Morning brew collection
26 Dec 2022 - Fixed a typo from Sencha form Oku-... to Sencha Oku-...