Sencha Fukamushi Super Premium (From Hibiki-An)

I recently acquired some Japanese green tea from the online retailer Hibiki-An. I don't work for them and they do not sponsor me or give me any kickbacks (although I'd be happy to receive money, tea, or some of their ridiculously expensive matcha bowls as a token of appreciation). I believe that Hibiki-An grows, processes, and sells their tea; unlike other online vendors that may simply serve as distributors. Anyway, I got a bag of their Sencha Fukamushi Super Premium. I like this tea.

Fukamushi is a type of sencha that is subjected to longer/deeper steaming during the processing of the tea leaves. This results in smaller pieces of tea in the final product, which in turn results in a sweeter and more "full bodied" taste relative to regular sencha. You can see some of the fine particles of tea dust in the following picture.

The back of the package includes Hibiki-An's preferred brewing recipe. You can customize the flavor of the tea by varying the amount of tea and water, the water temperature, and the brewing time. I don't have a special fukamushi brewing vessel; I use my standard kyusu, which probably isn't ideal because the strainer doesn't catch all of the tea particles during the pour.

I won't try to describe the flavor profile in detail, because the taste can vary from day to day depending on how I brew the tea. Generally speaking, I would say that the tea is balanced with a slightly sweet aftertaste. Not bitter, and not too "grassy" or "veggie" tasting. In view of its relatively high price, however, I'd hesitate to buy this tea again. That said, I would gladly accept a free bag or lifetime supply from Hibiki-An if they decide to sponsor me.

Green Tea From Japan: Acquired!

It's about 3:00 PM as I write this on a Monday afternoon. I usually drink one or two cups of coffee early in the morning, and Japanese green tea in the afternoon. I'm actually drinking a cup of sencha right now.

I recently received a nice little package from the Japanese tea company known as Hibiki-An. I bought a can of their matcha premium and a bag of their sencha fukamushi premium (shown below).

I've always liked Japanese tea, but never really paid too much attention to it. A few years ago, however, my attitude shifted in the following manner. First, I grew tired of the "fake" green tea bags that you find in variety packs of Tazo, Bigelow, Stash, and other brands of tea. This led me to check out the tea section in my local Japanese market. Wow, so many brands and types to choose from; I eventually decided to try some "real" green tea bags. I somewhat randomly decided to pick up a box of Den's Tea genmaicha tea bags.

Long story short, those tea bags were great. This led me to the Den's Tea website, which in turn introduced me to the deep dark world of Japanese green tea, the different types, the different tea-growing regions, how the tea is grown, harvested, and processed, blah blah blah. Moreover, I learned that it's important to brew Japanese green tea properly, i.e., with the right amount of tea, the appropriate volume of water (at the correct temperature), etc. Of course, this led to the acquisition of tea-brewing items . . .

I keep all of this gear (I prefer to call it "gear" or "equipment" rather than "teaware") in my office and at the ready for my afternoon green tea sessions. Going clockwise and starting at the 12:00 position: an awesome handmade tea cup by the Japanese artist Yamane Seigan; digital scale by Jennings; tea scoop; Tokoname kyusu (i.e., teapot); tea canister. Not shown are my electric water kettle (with digital temperature readout, thank you very much) and my digital timer device, which I don't really use anymore - I use the very cool online E.gg Timer instead. I freely acknowledge that in the real world most of this stuff is optional. That said, it's super important to control the water temperature and tea-to-water ratio, so I consider the scale and kettle to be key components here. I also consider the kyusu to be mandatory for the sake of tradition and to allow easy pouring and straining; it has a built-in ceramic strainer. I guess the canister is important, too. It's best to keep the tea in an airtight container to prevent oxidation. The teacup is totally optional, but it sure looks awesome.

Back to my recent haul . . . "fukamushi" means that the tea is steamed for a longer period of time, relative to standard sencha. This results in smaller pieces of tea, which in turn results in a different flavor profile (a little bolder and stronger, and usually less bitter than regular sencha). Here are two pictures for comparison. On the left is some standard sencha (from the Ippodo tea company). My new Hibiki-An Sencha Fukamushi Premium is on the right.

The differences in color, texture, and particle size are easy to see in these closeup pictures. I still have a little bit of the regular sencha in one of my airtight hermetically sealed canisters, but I'll be breaking out the fukamushi next.

Matcha: My Five-Minute Office Tea Ceremony

This is yet another post about something Japanese. Matcha. What the hell is matcha? According to Wikipedia, matcha "refers to finely milled or fine powder green tea." According to me, matcha is "awesome."

Although I had been intrigued by matcha for a long time, I didn't actually try it until about a year ago. I delayed my introduction to matcha for a number of reasons. First, good matcha is expensive. Second, all good matcha comes from Japan, and I was concerned about radioactive tea caused by the meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear power plant in 2011 (I later learned that good matcha is produced from tea grown in the Uji region of Japan, which was not affected by the meltdown). Third, I really didn't want to get sucked into yet another obsession/interest (too late). Fourth, making a proper bowl of matcha (that's right, you use bowls, not cups) requires specialized gear and techniques; what a hassle:

Matcha Gear

After doing some online research, I realized that a bamboo whisk (a "chasen") is absolutely required. So I bought a "starter kit" that included a chasen and a bamboo spoon/scoop thing (a "chasaku"). I decided to buy a medium tier Uji matcha from a Japanese vendor. So my initial investment was less than $35.00, and I was prepared to be disappointed and write it off. I wasn't, and I didn't.

You can read more about my office matcha set-up after the jump. [Edit: jumps are silly; removed it]

I drink both coffee and Japanese green tea at the office almost every day, so I took my matcha making gear to work. After making a few bowls (somewhat successfully), I realized that I needed additional equipment: a Japanese matcha bowl (rather than an American soup bowl); a sifter; and a Pyrex measuring cup. More gear = just great. I also use an electric kettle that has a programmable temperature setting.

The Japanese tea ceremony involves the preparation of thick matcha (known as "koicha") in accordance with a ritualistic and anal retentive sequence of ninja-like moves and events. The Acquirer office tea ceremony involves the preparation of thin matcha (known as "usucha") in accordance with the following steps. First, if I have a little extra time, I will preheat the matcha bowl with hot water, and then dry the interior of the bowl. Next, I use the chasaku to add a couple of scoops of the matcha powder to the sifter, shake rattle and roll, and use the chasaku if needed to tap all of the matcha powder out of the sifter and into the bowl:

I forgot to mention that during this time, I have the chasen soaking in some hot water in the Pyrex cup. This softens the "fingers" of the chasen and preheats the Pyrex cup, which some thermodynamically sensitive matchaficianados say is important.

Meanwhile, the electric kettle is also doing its thing, keeping some water at the appropriate temperature and ready for the bowl. I usually run the kettle at about 175-180 degrees for my matcha, because that's how I roll. Now for the grand finale. I remove the chasen from the Pyrex, discard the old water, add new hot water into the Pyrex (usually between 75 and 100 ml of water), pour the water into the bowl, and go to town with the chasen. This "go to town" step is critical, and it requires some skill. Not kidding - Google it. Anyway, the chasen is used to thoroughly integrate the matcha powder into the hot water, aerate the liquid and, as Devo would say: "whip it good." The end result is a frothy, creamy, full-flavored bowl of matcha:

The amount of prepared matcha is usually enough for three or four large sips. I believe that you are supposed to drink the matcha rather quickly, similar to how one might drink a triple shot of espresso. I've also heard that the last sip should be slurped up to get the most flavorful experience you can get. Whatever, I just drink it. It's good stuff.

Matcha

Our friends at U.S. Customs and Border Protection were nice enough to release a Japanese origin package addressed to me. What could it be? Jeans? Razor blades? Headphones? A new batch of pens? Erasers that resemble ramen? No. The package came from Ippodo Tea. Their brochure says that "Ippodo Tea Co. is a Kyoto-based purveyor of premium Japanese green tea - matcha, gyokuro, sencha, and bancha - cultivated in the lush fields of Kyoto. It was founded almost three centuries ago by a merchant named Ihei Watanabe who moved from Omi province (now Shiga prefecture) to Kyoto and opened a shop called Omiya on Teramachi Street in 1717. In 1846, Prince Yamashina bestowed upon the shop the name Ippodo, literally meaning "establishment that preserves one (tea)," in the hope that the high quality of the shop's tea would always be maintained." Well well well, a little full of themselves are they?

Anyhow, I bought two 20-gram cans of matcha: Wakamatsu-no-mukashi (extra-premium quality); and Horai-no-mukashi (premium quality). I recently got into matcha as a natural progression of my interest in green tea, which will be the topic of a future post for sure. It took me a long time to gather the "courage" to try matcha because my research (lots of it) led me to believe that matcha is too expensive, a real hassle to prepare, and foul tasting. I was wrong. You see, part of matcha's allure lies in its natural vibrant green color and characteristic aroma and umami. In the middle of the Edo period, Uji tea masters developed the modern method of producing sencha, which is characterized by its clear, golden yellow color, refined mellow fragrance and refreshing flavor. In the latter half of the Edo period, they devised a method for producing gyokuro, known for its characteristic fragrance and umami. These techniques, all of which were developed in Uji, have been passed down to the present day, and now form the basis and tradition of virtually all modern-day Japanese green tea production methods. (OK, I plagiarized the last four sentences from Ippodo's brochure. Sounds awesome, doesn't it?)

It should be mentioned that I am an absolute matcha noob. I've only had two other cans of matcha before these two. I'm still experimenting and trying to find the sweet spot of quality versus cost. Based on price alone, both of these should be "better" than the previous two I've tried. We'll see.