Sencha – Satsuki

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Steamed Tea Background Information:
Steamed teas like sencha are one of the most traditional types of Japanese green tea. There are three main types of sencha; asamushi (light steamed, ~15seconds), chuumushi (medium steamed, ~15-45seconds), fukamushi (deep steamed, ~45+seconds). Lighter steamed teas tend to produce a golden yellow colour. Deep steamed teas however can produce vivid green colours usually with a thicker texture, and due to the longer steaming time the leaves are mostly broken and fragmented with many small particles, meaning we consume more nutrients (and caffeine!). Asamushi sencha leaves are mostly intact, rolled into needle shapes which unfold more attractively as infusions progress. Shincha (meaning new tea) is tea that has been picked during the first harvest of the year – in spring. Later harvests have drastically lower amounts of amino acids (which give us umami and sweetness) and higher catechin levels (astringency and some bitterness). After harvest the tea is steamed straight away to halt oxidisation, and will then go on to be dried and rolled through various processes, finally being fired (hiire) to further dry the leaves to under 5% moisture, and impart the final taste. Some Japanese green teas are made from blends of different cultivars or regions, and some are single cultivar (similar to coffee/whisky). Blends are created by tea masters who taste many teas and then choose a selection to combine for a desired final taste that is easier to replicate year after year by adjusting the cultivar ratios. Single cultivar teas show the drinker how that year’s particular harvest was for that cultivar, as easy year can be quite different. This allows the drinker to build up a mental profile of that cultivar’s characteristics with time, bearing in mind there will also be large influences from the region/terroir and the specific farmer and producer’s growing and finishing methods.

Notes For This Particular Tea:
This Satsuki is a blend of cultivars from the producer based in Hoshinomura, Yame, Fukuoka – a region renowned for deep umami filled steamed tea – and is a great everyday drinking sencha. It is towards a deep steamed tea on the spectrum so we prefer to use kyusu with a stainless steel mesh inside to keep most of the small fragments inside, but pouring the tea through the strainer is an option too. If you’re particularly interested, try brewing the same amount of tea and water at the same temperatures and durations in two kyusu – one with a stainless steel mesh and one without but pouring through a strainer, and see if you notice a difference.

Sencha has a variety of tasting notes; umami (savoury), amami (sweetness), shibumi (astringency) and nigami (bitterness). For high grade sencha like this you can try a pre-infusion using a very small amount of ice water at 5-10°C for around 20 seconds, using roughly 2.5 times the water than the tea (experimentation is encouraged!). This can give a good introduction to the umami flavour of the tea while extracting minimal bitterness and astringency, but bear in mind that depending on the brewing duration the later infusions may contain less umami flavour. In this way, water temperature can be used to control the taste of the tea. If you prefer a combination of the savoury umami with some astringency and/or bitterness, you can try higher temperatures (around 70-85°C), but this tea’s growing and processing allows us to focus on the umami flavour very easily.

Please experiment with brewing to find your personal preference. A good starting point is listed below.

Hot brewing guide:
Sencha 3 grams (~1 teaspoon)
Water 55ml
First infusion 60°C for 45sec
Second infusion 70°C for 20sec
Third infusion 85°C for 0sec

Cold brewing guide:
Sencha 12 grams
Water 800ml for 6-12 hours
Spring or filtered water is recommended (specifically we look for a TDS of 30-80 - if you’re in the north of england tap water should be fine, and if you’re in the south you are probably familiar with water filters already). Simply pour the tea leaves on water and keep in the fridge overnight, or for 6-12 hours. Avoid vigorous handling/shaking. We use an ice and water mixture so that the brewing temperature is around 6 degrees celcius from start to finish, but forgoing the ice is absolutely okay. The duration of the brew can be experimented with to find your personal preference and when you are happy with the flavour, strain and dispose of the leaves. Consume within 24 hours.

Storage:
Store in a cold environment (6-10°C) and avoid exposure to light, air, heat, moisture and strong smells - these will degrade your tea. Best consumed within 1-2 months from when it is first opened.