Sencha review, Asamiya Asatsuyu

I’ve loved the super premium senchas that I’ve tried on the trip to Asamiya.  They were impressive.  So, I bought reasonable one to see how the average Asamiya tea taste like.  The sencha I got is Asatsuyu breed, which was 1000yen or 1200yen for 100grams.

The dried leaf doesn’t have the luster that premium ones have, but it still have a fine profound color and looks quite good considering the price.  I prepared this tea with my standard recipe.  The water color was not perfectly beautiful because it was slightly reddish.  The first impression of this Asatsuyu was weak.  The bitterness stood out in my mouth and I was not able to find satisfying umami there.  Comprehensively, I felt short on the flavor.  But, I didn’t miss the potential, the mild creamy sweetness behind the bitterness.

I tried another way of brewing to bring out the charm of this tea.  It is the method to make premium tea using plenty of the leaf (4g) and steeping it with a small amount (50ml/1.7oz) of lukewarm water (60C/140F).  Two minutes after, I've tried to check the aroma on the teapot.  It was filled with a pleasing sweet aroma like corn.   My assumption was correct!  The tea came out superb.  It still has earthy bitterness but also the rounded flavor of umami filled into my mouth.  It was very tasty.  As the super premium Asamiya teas I’ve tried, I find the bitterness delicious with this reasonable tea as well.  This is not as crisp or clear as the premium ones, but still its bitterness are very flavorful when it is blended with the corn like sweetness. 

I can say that this tea is quite distinctive so some people may not like it but some may love it.  I, personally very much like the Asamiya tea.