NaturaliTea #01: Hatsutsumi Handpicked Midori Shincha First Flush from Yunomi

Konnichi wa ocha no yūjin! 

Or if that made no sense:

Hello tea friends!

Japan is a country that inspires me to the point of being in awe. The culture, the technology, the religions, their traditions, and especially their tea. I thought I had experienced everything a few years ago that had to do with tea, until I went into the world of Japanese tea. There is nothing like it! If you have never tried Japanese tea for yourself then I highly recommend trying it. Part of this reason is because Japanese tea contains umami which is the fifth taste which translates to ‘pleasant savoury taste’. It may sound strange for a tea to taste savoury but I tend to liken it to a soup broth, completely unique and bursting with flavours. This is why I am so taken with Japanese tea in general.

I am happy and excited to be drinking some First Flush Midori Shincha by NaturaliTea as sold by Yunomi. No idea what Midori or Shincha is? Let me break it down: Midori means green and Shincha translates to ‘new tea’ which refers to when it was picked. Basically a Shincha is the first harvest of Sencha leaves which is also known as Ichibancha ‘ the first picked tea’. Besides the fresh aroma of the young leaves, Shincha is characterised by its relatively low content of bitter catechin and caffeine, and relatively high content of amino acid. This makes the Shincha harvested limited in size of the batch and also the time it is picked. And to finish off for Japanese tea newbies Sencha is a ryokucha or green tea cultivar that is indigenous to Japan, so much so that Sencha is Japans most commonly consumed tea with Sencha production being 80% of all tea  produced in Japan.

Now it’s time for the tea itself. Opening the sample pack reveals bright, glossy green leaf shards that are loosely broken. They bare a gorgeous sweet grass and mineral scent.

Steeping a Japanese tea is rather different than steeping a general green tea, the water temperature and steeping length can either enhance the umami or bypass it. A lot of it comes down to experimentation and preference; I like a nice umami which often comes through in low temperature water and short steeps. So I will be trying to find the umami goodness. Another thing you often find is the change of temperature, an example being the first steep at 80C, the second at 40 C and third at 70C. Again that would be because it enhances the umami quality.

My Steeping Parameters: 200ml Yunomi (Japanese cup), 360ml Futanashi Tokoname (lidless teapot used to enhance freshness and scent), 10g loose leaf. 

I want another note: my teapot is larger than my yunomi but I will only be using my teapot to 200ml. Also this is a sizeable yunomi that needed to be adjusted for. Otherwise I would recommend 3g of leaf to 60ml water.

Also, Yunomi bared this note: Our recommend steeping method is to use water cooled to about 40˚C/105˚F steeped for 2-3 minutes for the best balance between sweetness and umami (savory) flavors.

For that reason my first steep will be 2 minutes at 40C. (Room temperature is usually around 20C).

Once steeped the resulting tea liquid is cloudy, golden yellow colour that bares a vegetable (broccoli) and sweet grass scent. Not dissimilar to it’s raw state.

The first sips reveals a strong, broth like flavour packed with sweet grass, spinach, kale and mixed flowers with a pleasant, bitter aftertaste that lightens and becomes sweeter. That was the first sip, as you can see it packs a lot of different flavours and information in it. The after taste is lingering for very long in my mouth. I say broth because it reminds me of a strong, hearty, soup broth full of green vegetables.

The umami is very strong, so much so that I feel like I’ve jumped into an ice cold bath with every punching sip I take. But I can’t stop myself from sipping. The umami washes over me with warmth and wide eyed energy. A few sips more lighten the tea while my tongue adjusts to this unique flavour. It detects sweet honey and salty seaweed notes among the ever growing broth blend.

Second Steep – 80C for 45 seconds (see the jump in temperature?)

So the shorter steep at hotter temperature is mostly because I want to test the body of the green tea. Umami comes out in the first steep but it gets weaker over time, that is why I Umami the first steep and green tea the rest of it.

Yes, the umami is less than half of what it was. The punch that it packed is now a shadow of it’s former self; that being said it’s still a strong steep. It still has strong sweet grass and vegetal tones, and it’s also a little bitter; but it is lacking as much depth and oomph as the first steep. This is a good example of how much water temperature and steeping time can change a Japanese tea.

The sweetness is less so it’s not honeyed in this steep but it is hay like and grassy. In terms of broth this is mid level, like the vegetables are in a pan with water and steeping for a while, enough to have flavoured the water, but there is still more flavour left to go.

Third Steep – 60C for 30 seconds (another temperature change) 

Why the change? I want a lower temperature to increase any remaining umami that is left, whilst lessening the steeping time a little to try and reduce the bitterness. This is another example of why I said it’s best to experiment with Japanese teas, it’s all down to personal preference. Some people will read this and think I had it too strong or perhaps don’t agree with my parameters at all. I didn’t plan on the times for my second or third steep but I read what I wanted from the tea and it’s potential.

Was it a good decision to change? Yes. This steep is very light in taste but some umami can be found admidst the sweet, bitterness. This cup is more raw cabbage like than broccoli. It bares the same mineral, green sort of taste. While it’s immensely weaker in strength I feel if it was warmer it would have been too bitter to appreciate the remaining umami. As such just before the bitterness kicks in and the powerful sweetness I can taste the broth.

Final Thoughts

This was a nice Shincha that packed an incredible umami punch. Sweet yet savoury, vegetal yet bitter, it was a delicious combination in one tea. I would recommend it to umami lovers or those looking to experience it for the first time. If you are then stick with short steeps and 70-80C temp until you find it at your desired level. Don’t be put off if you dislike it the first time around, it may take time to get it to your personal taste. And once you do it will grow on you! Plus not forgetting that this is Organic I can tell the clarity of the flavours once prepared. There is nothing in this tea that tastes chemical or unnatural.

If you haven’t experienced many Japanese teas before then I hope I have given you insight.

Until next time, Happy Steeping!


Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Yunomi
logo-1Description:
  • Name: Handpicked Midori First Flush
  • Ingredients: 100% Shizuoka-grown green tea leaves
  • Harvest: Late April harvest
  • Cultivation Notes: Grown pesticide free. Fertilized with organic compost. Machine cut trim of the youngest, topmost leaves, and handpicked leaves.
  • Region: Fujieda, Shizuoka
  • Vendor type: Family-operated farm cooperative.
  • Established: 1976
  • Producer: Toshiaki Kinezuka, President, Hito to No, Shizen wo Tsunagu Kai (NaturaliTea)

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Kashima: Monoucha Genmaicha ‘Tsukihime’, Ishinomaki Brown Rice Tea From Kashima Tea Garden/Yunomi.us & Kumamoto Earthquake Tea Fund Announcement

TEA-YBE-002-genmaicha-web-031_e99a95be-c745-4b48-988f-9dcb5a14469d_grandeTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Green Tea

Where to Buy: Yunomi.us

Tea Description:

Sencha from the town of Monou in what is now Ishinomaki City brews into a deep forest green with a strong astringency. With a 400 year history of tea farming, the town of Monou is the northernmost tea region, and the field managed by Sasaki-san is the northernmost tea field in Japan.

Monoucha Genmaicha blends Sasaki-san’s sencha with toasted rice grains as well as rice cracker balls (plain and matcha flavored) for a uniquely toasted nutty flavor.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

This review will be one of the my lengthiest reviews to date here are Sororitea Sisters and it’s because of Kashima: Monoucha Genmaicha ‘Tsukihime’, Ishinomaki Brown Rice Tea From Kashima Tea Garden/Yunomi.us & Kumamoto Earthquake Tea Fund Announcement.  Yes!  It serves a duel purpose.  The tea review will be of the Kashima: Monoucha Genmaicha ‘Tsukihime’, Ishinomaki Brown Rice Tea From Kashima Tea Garden/Yunomi.us and then you will see an announcement about The Kumamoto Earthquake Tea Fund to follow.

Upon opening the package of Kashima: Monoucha Genmaicha ‘Tsukihime’, Ishinomaki Brown Rice Tea From Kashima Tea Garden available for purchase at Yunomi.us I found the aroma to be somewhat subtle but pleasant.  To the eye – this tea looks just like you think it would for a Genmaicha.  You see popped rice, flatted green tea leaves, matcha coated balls – you name it!

Once I infused this eye and nose pleasing green tea I noticed the post-infusion water was murky grey-green which isn’t surprising for a Genmaicha.  The aroma of the tea once infused is more roasted than prior to infusing.  Again it’s a lovely smelling tea!

As for the taste it is very green tea tasting with strong roasted notes!  It’s somewhat reminiscent of a broth but a bit heavier and I’m ok with that.  I’m more than ok with that!  I’m enjoying this quite a bit.  This is one of the most well-rounded Genmaicha’s I have tried in a long time.  It seems to offer everything I’m looking for without it being lopsided on one characteristic over the others.  This Kashima Monoucha Genmaicha ‘Tsukihime’, Ishinomaki Brown Rice Tea From Kashima Tea Garden (available atYunomi.us) is one for the ages!

Now…I would like to bring something to your attention.  And I’m pasting info below straight from the source(s).

“IMPOSSIBLE TO REMAIN STANDING” – JAPAN TIMES

EarthquakeThe Kumamoto Earthquakes were a series of earthquakes between April 14-16, 2016, with the main shock at magnitude 7.0. The earthquakes have resulted in 63 deaths, 3000+ injuries, and nearly 200,000 people evacuated to shelters in the aftermath.

Affect on Kumamoto Tea

Kumamoto is also a tea production region, and while we don’t believe tea production was affected in any major way by the earthquakes, tea producers and merchants, particularly small-scale operations that rely on local business for their livelihoods, will be affected as the region attempts to recover from this disaster. Merchants with shops in the most heavily damaged regions for example, experienced major damage to their buildings.

Tea people helping tea people

As part of the global tea community, we wish to contribute to the recovery of the region by creating this tea fund for the purpose of buying tea from these companies. While information is still coming in, we suspect the small tea shops in the hardest hit towns will benefit most from this fund rather than tea farmers or factories, but we will keep you updated on the contribution page.

TEA FUND – We would like to stress that while the sentiment is to help the region, this is a for-profit business effort. Suppliers, the small tea companies who we buy from, will make a profit, and profits we make from this specific fund will be used to buy more tea from these suppliers. This shifts the financial risk of the inventory from these tea companies to ourselves. A full accounting of funds will be updated regularly on this page (see below).

CHARITY – If you choose the option to donate to charity, 100% of your funds after transferred into Japanese yen will be donated Civic Force, a non-profit organization established in 2009, and was active after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake in rescue and relief efforts. They sent staff immediately to earthquake hit regions in its aftermath to aid in the search for survivors trapped in collapsed houses and buildings. Images and video from Civic Force. **We are unaffiliated with this non-profit organization but have received permission to use their images and video. Contributions will be aggregated and donated in full at a rate of 110 yen / USD (transaction fees and any other expenses paid by Yunomi).

12977115_1029558613785059_9081217382806729245_o_grandeTHE TEA FUND – HOW IT WORKS

  • For every $10 contribution, you will receive 30 grams (3.52 oz) of Kumamoto-grown tea.
  • Tea will be shipped to you beginning in July by Standard Airmail without tracking (buy tracking here if necessary).
  • Tea will be sourced from a Kumamoto tea producer or a tea merchant in the most heavily affected areas.
  • We will procure tea at retail price. Purchasing will be made in June at the earliest. The first few days after an earthquake are focused on rescue, then relief in the weeks following the disaster. Allowing for at least 1.5 months should be enough time for life to return to some semblance or normalcy and beginning of recover. However, we will monitor the situation and adjust accordingly.
  • Messages will be translated and sent to the companies we buy from, and to Civic Force.

Again…if you would like to donate please CLICK HERE for the Kumamoto Earthquake Tea Fund.