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

~ by trentknebel on June 10, 2008.