Umami in Cold Brewed Sencha

What is Umami?

Everyone knows of the 4 basic tastes: Sweet, Sour, Bitter, and Salty, but few know of the 5th; umami. It is a savory flavor found in rich foie gras, buttery smooth filet mignon,  hearty soup, and artisan parmesean cheese.

If you really want  to get a feel for the taste of umami,  I would suggest trying Konbu, a umami rich form of japanese kelp available at Maiko Tea Shop.

Umami in Sencha:

I’ve heard before that Sencha has trace hints of umami, but until now, I’ve never been able to detect any.

Why did I just now have a “umami epifany”? I tried cold brewing.  In my opinion, cold brewing shifts the flavor profile of sencha from grassy with faint citrus notes, to vegetal and umami centric. Alex A.K.A. Space Samurai of “Another Tea Blog” has also noticed that cold brewed Yutaka Midori “is strong, but not astringent, sweet, flavorful, very vegital. There is nothing grassy about this.”

How to Cold Brew:

There are various methods of cold brewing, to extract the greatest amount of unami you should:

1. Put your usual amount of sencha in your teapot or gaiwan.
2. Pack in as much ice as you can.
3. Let brew until all ice is melted.
4. Serve in a chilled cup.

My unscientific hunch is that this method extracts the greatest amount of umami because it infuses for a longer time and at a colder temperature than other cold brewing methods.

More Info On Unami:

http://www.umamiinfo.com/

More Info On Cold Brewing:

http://anotherteablog.blogspot.com/2008/06/ice-infused-shincha.html

http://anotherteablog.blogspot.com/2007/08/sencha-ice-infusion.html

http://www.inpursuitoftea.com/category_s/159.htm

Mighty Leaf – Golden Monkey

Class: Black
Origin: Fujian Provence
Crop: unspecified
Vendor: Mighty Leaf
Price: 3 oz – $14.95

9/10 “downy golden buds brew a complex liquor composed of squash, butter, pepper, and chocolate… not your average black tea”
Vendor’s Description:
Golden Monkey is a complex black tea from China’s Fujian Province with golden-tipped leaves meticulously picked by hand in the Spring. The Golden Monkey infusion opens with the aroma of autumn leaves and delivers a rich nutty flavor with a caramel finish.

Brewing Parameters:

• Gong Fu
• Water Temp: Boiling
• Rinse: 5 s

1. 10 s
2. 11 s
3. 15 s
4. 20 s
5. 1 min

Taste:

1. chocolate, squash, butter, pepper
2. peppered chocolate
3. smooth squash & chocolate body, pepper aftertaste
4. pepper topnote, buttered squash body
5. subdued woody flavor

Aroma:

1. squashy body with a peppery tinge, buttery
2. buttered squash body without a peppery tinge
3. sweet, complex honey
4. pepper topnote, chocolate body, squash finish
5. subdued woody aroma

Overall Impressions:
Contrary to popular opinion, I have always felt that the Gong Fu method greatly accentuates the diverse flavor profile of “Dian Hong” black teas (Golden Monkey is a “dian hong”). Just as I predicted, utilizing Gong Fu greatly assisted me in identifying the particular flavors composing this tea. “Dian Hong” is not like any black tea you have tried before. Whereas most black teas have a relatively simple flavor profile, the profile of “Dian Hong” is complex. If you predominately drink black tea, but wish to branch out into the world of oolongs and pu-erh, I would highly recommend trying any “dian hong” you can get your hands on.

Just4Tea – Tie Guan Yin

Snapshot: 9.5/10
A multifaceted tea with a creamy mouth feeling comprised of apricot, chocolate, sugar cane, vanilla, nutty, and smoky flavors. The unique mouth feeling makes it a must try!”
Brewing Method:

• Gong Fu
• Water Temp: boiling
• Infusion Times: 5 s rinse, 35 s, 45 s, 70 s, 100 s, 115 s, 130 s

Color: a medium orange, pretty much the same for each infusion

Taste 9/10: (by infusion #)

1. bold, slightly smoky, smooth & heavy mouth feeling, chocolate, sugar cane aftertaste
2. apricoty & chocolaty (f those are words), slightly smoky
3. intense chocolate followed by a sugar cane aftertaste, ever so slightly smoky
4. pure apricot
5. sugar cane & chocolate followed by a nutty finish
6. apricot, sugar cane, & chocolate
7. intense vanilla and sugar cane
8. subsequent infusions tasted exactly the same as 7, but the flavor lost intensity with each infusion

Aroma 10/10: (by infusion #)

• Dry Leaf: charcoal, bamboo
• Wet Leaf: butterscotch, chocolate, nutty, smoky

1. Chocolate galore! slightly smoky
2. apricoty & chocolaty, smoke slightly subdued
3. peach & sugar cane
4. pure sugar cane
5. sugar cane with some nuttiness
6. chocolaty, sugar cane
7. intense vanilla & sugarcane
8. subsequent infusions smelled exactly the same as 7, but the aroma lost intensity with each infusion

Vendor’s Description:
Semi-fermented and grown in the AnXi area in the Fujian province of China. Tie Guan Yin undergoes a longer fermentation period than ordinary Oolongs and is blended and roasted using our traditional Chaozhou family recipe. It delivers deep flavor, with an intense, floral and nutty aroma and a fruity finish. When steeped in boiling water the crinkly balls unfurl, revealing green-brown, lace-edged leaves.

My Overall Impressions:
An excellent multifaceted tea comprised of apricot, chocolate, sugar cane, vanilla, nutty, and smoky flavors. The tea dramatically changes from infusion to infusion, featuring a different combination of the core flavors with each infusion. The first few steepings had an unpleasant smoky taste, but the following infusions were amazing. Infusions 5 and on were my favorites, as they were intensely sweet in both aroma and taste. The lid of my yixing pot smelled so sweet, I wanted to eat it (Mmmm… sweet clay). What I found especially unique about this tea, was the feeling of the brewed liquor. It was heavy and smooth, almost like a thick matcha. If small sips were taken, the liquor would immediately sink into my tongue and disappear, leaving behind a flavor almost more intense than that of the liquid itself. It was almost as if I was “eating” the tea.

Where to purchase?:
Just 4 Tea – Tie Guan Yin

Mighty Leaf – Matcha

Snapshot: 7/10
Smooth and creamy froth with an intense vegetal flavor and no astringency
Brewing Method – usacha (thin) using traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony goods

• Chawan: a medium sized bowl used to froth and drink matcha. Small enough to comfortably drink out of, but large enough to easily whip up a foamy tea. (A medium size bowl works fine if you don’t have a chawan)
• Chasen: a whisk created from a single section of bamboo used to froth matcha. (If you don’t have a chasen, use a fork, it works much better than a kitchen whisk.)
• Chashaku: a bamboo “spoon” used to measure matcha (If you don’t have a chashaku, just use a small spoon.)

Aroma: 9/10 – thick vegetal aroma, similar to a quality sencha, much like asparagus.

Sweetness: 3.5/10 – hardly sweet at all, unimpressive.

Astringency: 10/10 – no astringency!

Flavor: 8/10 – addicting flavor, tastes just the same as it smells, but with a smooth and creamy feel.

Overall Impressions:
An extremely addicting flavor, but I would recommend any matcha from o-cha.com much more. This matcha isn’t the sweetest, but it’s superb vegetal flavor makes up for what it lacks in the sweetness department. The aroma is so strong, that I almost coughed when I smelled the dry powder. If you enjoyed matcha prepared with normal kitchen utensils, I would highly recommend purchasing a chasen to froth your tea. With a chasen, the matcha transforms from a dark green liquid into a creamy, radioactive green froth.

Beginning of a Blog

I’l be publishing posts on everything tea related:

• tea reviews
• teaware
• brewing tips
• and anything else I think you will find interesting