This tea comes in a very nice vacuum-sealed paper package. Once you open it there´s a small "whoosh"- sound as air gets in and the whole packet expands a little. So it´s as fresh as when it was packaged this spring. Text on the package tells us that this is “a high quality first green tea of the year from the famous tea area Shizuoka. The young and tender leaves have a fruity aroma. A very delicate and sweet sencha from Otsuka, the multiple prize winning company for best tea of Japan.”
I steep it at 70 degrees for a minute. The resulting drink is light yellowish green, with small particles of leaf dust swirling around. Beautiful. I take a sip and close my eyes: grassy summer slopes with the sea visible from the hills, sun shining gently on top of everything, a warm slight breeze keeping the air fresh. I´m taking a nap beneath a giant lemon tree. There are no worries here. Soft but light. Umami. There´s a lot of leaf particles floating in the tea, it´s almost like a green soup, quite thick.
Sitting here after the first cup I feel acutely present in this moment. Being present is perhaps the only thing a human should strive for in this life. It is painfully difficult, though. Or maybe it´s more like that not being present in the moment is what is actually painful? Or running away from the pain that is present… I lost it. Sorry.
Steep number 2: only 20 seconds at 70 C. A lot darker mossy green and cloudy liquid. A conifer forest. Dash of citrus, a little spinach, not too much to make it vegetable-y. The taste: now we are definitely in a moist shadowy forest, with moss covered logs and stones. Shiitake mushrooms. Kois swimming in swift small streams. It´s that umami taste of sweetness without being sugary. A remarkable change between steepings. I´m starting to feel really pretty high with all the caffeine, L- theanine, antioxidants and what not.
A lot of the plants that are native to Japan also grow somewhat well here in Finland. I have a rare dwarf form of the Japanese rhododendron, for example, growing in my yard. Unfortunately the prettiest Japanese tree, the Acer palmatum, or Japanese maple, is too tender to grow here. I´ve killed three of them being stubborn and just trying to plant them against what I know is inevitable. There´s something in Japanese plants that is very special; they look “Japanese” no matter where you grow them…
Steep no 3. is 40 seconds at 70 C. The tea gets more fruity and lemony. The flavors are mellowing out, comfortable and round. I´m a bit disappointed that the greatness stopped here, maybe a little bit short? But those first two cups were really special, so I won´t complain. I´ve noticed that I can only make a tea review that I´m myself satisfied with when I´m alone and there´s at least an hour to use without of danger of getting interrupted. With a somewhat busy lifestyle of a family- father it´s somewhat challenging to find those quiet niches. But when I do have the change to sit down like this and really concentrate to whatever tea I´m having and writing about, then it feels that this must really be what tea is all about.
I steep it at 70 degrees for a minute. The resulting drink is light yellowish green, with small particles of leaf dust swirling around. Beautiful. I take a sip and close my eyes: grassy summer slopes with the sea visible from the hills, sun shining gently on top of everything, a warm slight breeze keeping the air fresh. I´m taking a nap beneath a giant lemon tree. There are no worries here. Soft but light. Umami. There´s a lot of leaf particles floating in the tea, it´s almost like a green soup, quite thick.
Sitting here after the first cup I feel acutely present in this moment. Being present is perhaps the only thing a human should strive for in this life. It is painfully difficult, though. Or maybe it´s more like that not being present in the moment is what is actually painful? Or running away from the pain that is present… I lost it. Sorry.
Steep number 2: only 20 seconds at 70 C. A lot darker mossy green and cloudy liquid. A conifer forest. Dash of citrus, a little spinach, not too much to make it vegetable-y. The taste: now we are definitely in a moist shadowy forest, with moss covered logs and stones. Shiitake mushrooms. Kois swimming in swift small streams. It´s that umami taste of sweetness without being sugary. A remarkable change between steepings. I´m starting to feel really pretty high with all the caffeine, L- theanine, antioxidants and what not.
A lot of the plants that are native to Japan also grow somewhat well here in Finland. I have a rare dwarf form of the Japanese rhododendron, for example, growing in my yard. Unfortunately the prettiest Japanese tree, the Acer palmatum, or Japanese maple, is too tender to grow here. I´ve killed three of them being stubborn and just trying to plant them against what I know is inevitable. There´s something in Japanese plants that is very special; they look “Japanese” no matter where you grow them…
Steep no 3. is 40 seconds at 70 C. The tea gets more fruity and lemony. The flavors are mellowing out, comfortable and round. I´m a bit disappointed that the greatness stopped here, maybe a little bit short? But those first two cups were really special, so I won´t complain. I´ve noticed that I can only make a tea review that I´m myself satisfied with when I´m alone and there´s at least an hour to use without of danger of getting interrupted. With a somewhat busy lifestyle of a family- father it´s somewhat challenging to find those quiet niches. But when I do have the change to sit down like this and really concentrate to whatever tea I´m having and writing about, then it feels that this must really be what tea is all about.
No comments:
Post a Comment