Trial and error for perfect tea storage

I have done an experiment to find out the best way to store my precious tea.  I considered the same containers, but did trials on room temperature, refrigerator and a freezer.  The tea kept in the refrigerator appeared the worst quality.  Meanwhile, the teas stored in either the room or in the freezer, has more likely the same result, same quality, and they were both better than the refrigerator-stored tea.  I concluded that the normal room storage is the best there is.

The entry regarding about the previous test >>>

http://everyonestea.blogspot.jp/2011/06/best-condition-for-daily-tea-storing-2.html

Quite honestly, I have little doubts about this result.  I had done some other tests on tea storage simultaneously, and I achieved unconvincing results on those test.  Then I realized that there was something different, something was out of the way.  Alas!  I packed the tea samples on a rainy and humid day.  I assumed that the leaves absorbed moisture, plus I packed them with the humid air. These conditions: moisture and density of air, contributed a significant effect on my tea storage.  Having said that, I think that the result of the test for the best storage is not reliable and needed modifications.

Here, I did another test again.  This time, I packed the samples in a fine dry day.  I had to take note of the temperature and humidity using thermometer and hygrometer. I need to be precise and specific.  I stored them in the following conditions for one month.

A.    Room temperature

B.    Refrigerator

C.    Freezer

Here goes the result:

A.    Bitter

B.    Clear

C.    Bitter

I soon discovered that “A” and “C” have a bold bitterness, especially “A”.  Relatively, I found “B” most tasteful.  I would conclude that the refrigerator is the best place, sort of.  You might have realized that “A” has a lot more fine residue of tea settling at the bottom of the cup compared with the other cups.  This means I did not evenly pick the grains of the samples when packing though I specifically weighed each sample equally.  I tried to be very careful, but actually it was not enough.  Small grains of leaves dissolve the substances faster than larger grains.  This created the possibility for “A” to be bitter. 

I’m sorry that I cannot give you a confident answer for this issue again.  I am annoyingly frustrated.  However, by taking notes of these errors, I hope I could reach a more profound and convincing result someday.  I just have to be optimistic!

Sweet aroma of green tea

Can you tell the quality of tea by just looking and smelling those green dry leaves?  So, the other day, I attended another interesting tea-tasting workshop.  There is that kind of tasting that you can tell the difference of the quality of the tea from the good one to the bad one by smelling, feeling and physically observing 5 tea samples (You don’t actually taste the brewed tea).

We had a fruitful lecture before the actual tasting.  The teacher said that good tea possess sweet aroma.  So this time I paid attention about the odor and wandered for the sweet aroma in the samples.  What was interesting about it was that I found out the second-best tea has the most bold sweetness.  Well of course, the first-best tea also had a sweet odor.  Furthermore, the fourth tea had a sweet smell as well.  Interesting, wouldn’t you think?  They are all sweet but the quality of the sweetness varies.  The first-best one had a fresh fragrance with a green note which comes from the natural quality of tea.   The second and fourth ones had the sweetness with roasted flavor that is reminiscent of corn. 

The roasted flavor is called “hika” which is added by roasting the leaves at the final producing process.  Hika literally means fire aroma.  It improves the flavor of tea by giving more profound caramelic flavor and cornish aroma.  You may not find hika on high quality teas, but you often find it on ordinary teas. 

I gave the correct answer in this tasting practice.  I kind of relied on the appearance rather than the aroma, though.  I think improving smelling skills are quite challenging because memorizing the smell is not easy.  You cannot lean it by reading so you have to experience it on your own.  I could find the difference on the sweet aroma between the second and forth tea, but I’m not sure if I can remember the difference next time.  I definitely need more practice on smelling, hahaha.  If you have a chance to smell some different leaves, try to look for the sweet aroma and find out the difference of the sweetness.

Favorite breed

I got 10 tea samples of different breeds to study: 1Yutakamidori, 2Saemidori, 3Asatsuyu, 4Asanoka, 5Yabukita, 6Koshunn, 7Benifuki, 8Shizu7132, 9Kanayamidori, 10Okumidori. 

Comparing the different samples at the same will make it easier to find the differences.  However, 10 samples were kind of too many for me.  I got confused after tasting several kinds.  I think I need more experience on this, hahaha.  Anyway, it was very interesting.  Some teas have a distinctive aroma, and some teas are very mild.  I was kind of surprised to find out that Yabukita has relatively strong bitterness among the ten. 

My favorite one is Asatsuyu.  I simply find it tasty.  The most significant character of this tea is umami.  You find it right after you sip the tea and it beautifully lasts to the end.  The umami merges with other flavors and creates a rich body in the taste.  You can enjoy the umami changing into milder sweetness during the aftertaste.  This tea has more bitterness than Yutakamidori and Saemidori, but it’s not sharp at all, so I can still consider it mild. 

In the tasting, I used boiling water, so I prepared it again with lower temperature (leaf:2g, water:30ml/1oz, 65C/149F, 1min).  Using this method, I found out that it has a nutty sweet aroma.  The aroma will get me to have a good expectation.  With the first sip, I was sure that my assumption was correct.  The rich umami pleased me.  But, I feel something missing in the taste, so I still need to experiment for a better mixture.  Anyway, I like Asatuyu.  You try it and let me know your preference.  

Breed of tea

“Yabukita”  Have you ever heard of that name?

There are many breeds of tea plant.  Each type has different characteristics.  Yabukita is the most popular breed of tea in Japan because of its excellent quality and really impressive yield.  Approximately 70-80% of tea fields in Japan produce Yabukita.

Do you ever consider the breeds when buying your green tea?  I honestly think that most people do not.  The tea sold in stores is usually blended with some different kinds of tea.  Blending helps supply excellent quality and stable taste of tea.  A single-breed tea is not a mainstream in the market.  The breeds are not mentioned on the package of most tea, so your chances of distinguishing or knowing the breed of tea are quite low.

The trend for Yabukita and the loss of uniqueness (due to the blending of one type with another) may encourage the demand for variety and distinctiveness.   I believe paying attention to the details on the breeds is given much importance by tea lovers these days.  It will be interesting to try the tea that is not perfect but unique.

I got some samples of different breeds to study them.

Exquisite cold sencha

Continuation from the previous entry

My method is basically cold-water brewing.  However, I use lukewarm water in the beginning to awaken the leaves and to help faster infusing.  The tea prepared with this method has much more profound flavor with ample bitterness than the cold brewed tea, and it also has much more sweetness of umami than hot brewed tea.  This method takes a little extra effort but it is worth the try!

One serving for a glass (or for three regular sencha cups)

Tea leaf: about double of regular amount (12g/0.42oz)

Lukewarm water: 50degC/122degF, Just enough to submerge the leaves (50ml/1.8oz)

Cold water: 200ml/7oz

Ice cube: adequate dose

The leaves shown here is not 12g.  They are 8g.  Sorry.

1.    Put the tea leaves and lukewarm water into the teapot and brew it for only 10 seconds.

2.    Add a few ice cubes and cold water and brew it for 10 minutes.

3.    Pour into a glass.

Best served in cold and enjoy the exquisite flavor! 

I don’t set the time for my second brewing.  I just refill the teapot with cold water and a few ice cubes and leave it while I enjoy the first serving.   The second tea will be ready in an hour or two; which is a pretty good timing for my second refreshment in the office.

Cold sencha brewing

How do you prepare cold sencha in the summer?

Easiest way will be preparing strong sencha with hot water and pouring it into a glass with a lot of ice cubes.  The brewed tea is very refreshing but it could sometimes taste too bitter.  It might be a little difficult to control the strength or flavor of tea. 

Another way will be brewing sencha with cold water over a night.  The tea prepared in this way will be very smooth, but it could sometimes be too mild.  The problem is that I don’t want to wait for such long time. 

What is your way?

This year, I’m into another method for preparing cold sencha.  It is just in between those two methods in taste and effort in preparing.  The flavor is exquisite.  It has a sweetness of good umami but it also has an ample amount of bitterness.  I’m pretty pleased with it and lately I enjoy my tea with this method in the office.

I have been preparing this tea by the rule of thumb.  I’ll measure the actual conditions and introduce them on the next entry.

Sencha producing process 2

This is the continuation from the previous entry.

c. Junen

EQUALIZE MOISTURE in the leaves by rolling with pressure.  This stage does not involved heating.

After junen, the leaves lose sliminess.

d. Chuju

Loosely ROLL and DRY

The leaves get deep green.

e. Seiju

Tightly roll into NEEDLE SHAPE on a thing like washboard.

1.   Drying

At the last step, the leaves are dried in a dryer.

Each step is processed on a different machine and it takes a half of a day to finish the entire process.  The machines can be controlled by a computer program and can make tea automatically.  But, I saw staff taking out the leaf samples from the line once in a while, and checking the leaf’s condition.  And, they adjusted the setting of the machines and determined the amount of time needed until the cycle is done. 

The most striking words from one of the staff were “Machines do not produce tea but our senses do.”

Control panel of a machine

Sencha producing process

Do you know how sencha is processed on the rolling process?

You might have read how sencha is produced on books or on the internet.  It is produced by steaming, rolling and drying the leaves picked on the day.  The first step, steaming, and the last step, drying, are quite obvious and their process can be understood easily.  But, the rolling has five stages and it might be a little difficult to understand them from books. 

I had a chance to observe the actual producing line at the workshop that I attended in April.    I learned a lot of things that I cannot learn from books.  For example, I would not know that you have to do this like the following photo if I didn’t observe the factory.

I’ll introduce my notes from the workshop:

Fresh picked leaves sent to the line

1.   Steaming

In the beginning, you actually count the steaming time, and take out some samples of steamed leaf.  You check the appearance and texture of the leaves, and decide the steaming time of the day.  

Steamer 

 

Steamed leaves

Slightly slimy

2.   Rolling (actually drying at the same time)

a.    Hauchi    

DRY the leaves with hot air as if agitating them in a drum.  Cool them down gradually to body temperature.  The leaves are very moist and sticky, which stick on the fins and walls of the machine.

b.    Soju

DRY like the Hauchi.  The leaves get less sticky.  Water doesn’t come out by pinching them.  

Hauch machine

 

The inside

                                                          

So, staff is taking off the stuck leaves on the fins and walls after the hauch process.  Did you know leaves are sticky during the process?

Leaves after hauchi

I’ll write about following processes in the next entry.

Shaking a bottle of green tea

You might wonder why I’m shaking a bottle of green tea.

It’s because this is the way how to drink this bottle.  I found this unique beverage on my Sizuoka trip.  

When I found it on the shelf, it looked like this; the inside of the bottle is clear with no color, and it has a bigger cap than ordinary bottles.  It is just cold mineral water and it has powered tea leaves in the cap.  The tea is not matcha, but deep-steamed sencha.  To prepare the tea, you release the leaves into the water by twisting the green cap.  Then, you shake the bottle like what I did in the first photo.  The tea is mixed and gets green like the following picture.  Now, it is ready for you to drink!

Isn’t this interesting?    

Even though I was disappointed finding the tea a little rough with a weak flavor, I think that the concept is excellent.  You can have fresh prepared tea anytime, and plus you can enjoy preparing.  I like the playful idea.   It might need a slight improvement, but in the future, this could be one of standards of bottled tea.  Do you see the potential?

Ocha-no-sato Tea Museum

Have you heard of the name, Enshu Kobori (1579-1647)?   He was a feudal lord and tea master.  He added brightness and beauty on former tea masters’ “wabi-sabi” style, and created his own tea.  It is called “kirei-sabi”, or gracefulness and simplicity.  He held about 400 tea ceremonies and invited 2,000 guests in his life.  What impresses me is that he was so versatile.  He was talented not only in tea, but also in calligraphy and poetry, and supervised in pottery making, building gardens, tea houses and even castles.

The other place we stopped on the Shizuoka trip was Ocha-no-sato tea museum, which has a tea house and garden designed by Enshu.  It is not a large museum, but I think it’s an interesting place for tea lovers.  It is the place where I experienced tea picking (seasonal activity).

At the café there, you can enjoy different teas that you cannot usually try at ordinary cafe.  Most of teas sold on the market are blended different teas, so you don’t have many chances to try single breed tea.  But there, they serve different breed teas (such as; yabukita, asatsuyu, saemidori and so on) and also teas from different production regions (such as; Simada, Makinohara and kawane).   For a tea enthusiast like me, it is kind of exciting to choose a tea from that selection.  What I had was yutakamidori breed iced tea.  I wanted to tell you the taste of tea, but it was a few weeks ago.  I only remember that it was good but don’t exactly remember how good it was, haha.  Sorry (^^;;

The menu

You prepare your own tea

Yutakamidori

Beautiful!

  

Ocha-no-sato tea museum (Japanese): http://www.ochanosato.com/

Enshu's Tea school: http://www.enshuryu.com/English/index.html

What is the advantage of hand-picking?

I think that one of the biggest advantages of hand-picking will be evenness of leaf form and it gives less damage to the leaves.  With a machine, some leaves might be cut in the middle, and big leaves might be included as well. 

I said “Really!?” when I leaned a new trivia which will be another advantage of hand picking.   Before I tell you about it, I would like to show you a picture.  Do you realize that there are different shapes of plants?

Some plants on the near side have an even surface, which you can usually find at common tea fields.  They are trimmed for the machine picking for the reason that I explained in the previous entry.  On the other hand, can you find some plants on the back which wildly grow their foliage?   The surface for hand-picking plants doesn’t have to be even.  So, they are grown wildly.

What is the advantage, then? 

What I learned is that the leaves from wildly grown plants have more amino-acid (umami) than ones from trimmed plants.  Isn’t it surprising?  Maybe because, wildly grown plants have less stress??  I didn’t have a chance to ask details.  But if it is the fact, it will be a very reasonable advantage for hand picking. 

I have to mention that all hand-picked tea is not always from wildly-grown plants.  You can hand-pick from trimmed plants.  But anyway, I was so delighted learning a trivia about hand picking.

wildly grown plants

Beautiful machine-picked tea

As it turned out, the machine-picked tea leaves are very beautiful!  Since you can collect the tea leaves such beautifully by a machine, I might not able to tell the difference in taste between the hand-picked and the machine-picked tea.  I wonder if there is much advantage on expensive hand picking.  What do you think?

By machine picking, you shear the surface of the plants in one stroke and collect the fresh buds and leaves.   I thought that it would contain some old stiff leaves and twigs, but I didn’t find any of them in the collected leaves as shown in the picture above.  I knew that you trim the surface in the fall and spring to make it even and to prevent mixing the old leaves and twigs when harvesting.  But I didn’t know that you can adjust the height of the shearing surface with such great accuracy.  That makes a good quality of harvest possible. 

Now, let’s go back to my question in the beginning.  What is the advantage of hand-picked tea?  I’ll talk about it on the next post.

It is brighter than I imagined

Tea plants shoot out buds and new leaves in spring.  You pick them and make the first tea of the year.  Now is the season!  

Some of you might have experienced tea picking, but I believe that not many people have had a chance to observe actual tea producing processes.  I attended a practical workshop of producing sencha.  I observed an actual tea processing line at an agricultural experiment station.  I would like to write about it in some of my entries.

The station has some tea fields and some processing lines. 　Tea plants for common teas like sencha are grown under the sun like in the picture on the top.  On the other hand, can you find a black covered thing in the following picture?   To make gyokuro and matcha, you cover the tea plants a little after the buds shoot out.  Then about 20 days later, they are ready to be picked.  In the latter half of the covering period, they'd be blocking about 97% of the light from getting to the plant.  By blocking the light, the leaves try to catch more light.  They get bigger and undulated to create more surface area.  They also gain chlorophyll, and get darker in color.  How smart plants are!  This makes the tea leaves with a lot of umami!

I was so excited to get a chance to get in the covers.  This was my first time!  I was curious about the world with only 3% of light.

My first impression was … Bright!   It was much brighter than I imagined.  I expected it to be pretty dark, but it actually wasn’t.  See, I could even take a picture.  I got to realize that sunlight is very powerful.  Hahaha,