...is unbelievably bitter, astringent and, on an empty stomach, head-spinning. Yes, that is what the failure to brew a cup of sencha PROPERLY tastes like.
Not just any sencha either, dammit. A Darjeeling sencha from Badamtam estate, very kindly sent to me by the lovely people at Lochan Tea. I've never had a Darjeeling sencha before. It looks very like a deep steamed Japanese one, dark green leaves like fine needles. So naturally I brewed in the way I normally brew sencha these days... A tablespoon of leaves, boiling water, multiple short steeps.
Well. This method works beautifully for Japanese greens, and really pulls the most out of Australian sencha too... But it was an absolutely abject failure for the Badamtam. I haven't had such an appallingly bitter cup of tea in a while, especially not one I've made myself.* So I shall try again; less leaf, cooler temperatures... Hopefully I'll be able to work it out before I use up all my sample.
I still drank the tea, though, undrinkable though it seemed on first sip. Self-flagellation? Well, maybe a little, but once I'd got past the grimace-inducing taste of the alkaloids, that same astounding sweetness that sencha has was still there. So it was worth it, in the end.
*a notable example at another establishment was a pot of Earl Grey at Trunk; I cannot even begin to imagine what they did to it to make it so vile. I suspect a ritual circle of black magic, worked by coffee-drinking tea-haters, may have been involved.
Funny how some tea is like a puzzle. As if you have to unlock its mysteries before you can appreciate the goodness.
ReplyDeleteAm wishing you luck with this one. Sounds like you migh need it.
Darjeeling sencha?! Wow, now I'm really curious. And I'd like to see your thoughts when you prepare it a different way.
ReplyDeleteYour fail is my gain Ms JDT. Or perhaps I should say it's Lochan Tea's gain. Because now I've been reminded of a tea, I really didn't know much about.
ReplyDeleteYour bitter account doesn't deter me. I should try it. I'm sure I should.
Keep us posted about your next time!
Yours,
J.
I've found Darjeeling green tea and Darjeeling oolong to be more sensitive to brewing temperature than nearly any other teas I've ever tried. I tend to treat them more like Gyokuro...go very, very low on the brewing temperature.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I've never had a Darjeeling sencha (fascinating-sounding idea) but if it's at all like any of the other non-black teas to come out of Darjeeling, what you write here comes as no surprise to me!