Japanese tea enthusiast only

Have you ever dreamed about making your own taste of tea?  You can actually make one at Fukujuen in Kyoto.  The teas sold at various stores are usually blended in different kinds.  You can try the tea blending at Fukujuen.  It will be quite maniac, but if you are a Japanese tea enthusiast, you will be fascinated about it.

They have a list of different teas; sencha, kabusecha and gyokuro.  You can choose your tea preference by checking out the description from the list, and you can actually have a taste of it.

A crew will help you to find your choice of tea.

The crew prepares the teas for tasting.  She knows how to prepare delicious tea very well.  If you are not sure how good green tea tastes like, this will be a great place to try decent Japanese tea.

 

We were a party of three and shared teas with each other so we could taste many different kinds. 

After some tasting, I found a tea that I really liked.  It is extremely mellow sencha, with no bitterness and full of pleasing sweetness.  That sencha is okumidori breed from Wazuka region.  It was quite different, or I should say it’s much better than the okumidori that I know.  This okumidori can be too mellow so I decided to blend a yamakai with a distinctive flavor.  The yamakai has a refreshing note with a gorgeous fruity fragrance.  I wondered about the ratio of blending if I should go for 7:3 or 9:1.  This whole process of tasting and wondering is what I enjoy most.  I decided to go for 9:1=okumidori:yamakai.  The crew blended them and finally served me the tea.  Yes, Excellent!!  The tea has a rounded sweet flavor with an accent of refreshing yamakai aroma.  It was perfect.

I paid 2,257yen for this tea (100g/3.5oz) which is expensive for sencha.  But if you consider the quality and all the experience, it is very reasonable and all worth it.  If you are a Japanese tea enthusiast, I highly recommend this place if you get the chance to drop by Kyoto. 

Fukujuen >>> http://www.fukujuen-kyotohonten.com/english/floor.html