My first cup of sencha! (Ippodo Hosen)
I finally tried my first sencha, and it was not like what I was expecting it to be. I was hit with a strong scent upon opening the pouch, very much like matcha (fresh and vegetal). The taste on the other hand was very unexpected. I’ve heard of Japanese teas being described as oceanic or fishy, but I had never been drawn to that flavour profile, and thus wasn’t expecting it to be something I’d like.
Well, this cup of tea was extremely fishy, and it took me a bit of time to figure out what the smell of the brewed tea leaves reminded me of. “Fishy” isn’t very specific, so I guess I would say that it leans closer to a fish soup, and it has a very brothy and strong umami to it. I have never tasted anything like it, but I can’t wait to try more senchas! Perhaps I’ll have to tweak the brewing ratio, as it did seem very strong to me, although it could be due to me not being accustomed to the gong fu method.
Have any of your tried this tea yet? How do y'all brew your sencha?
P.S. The brew log is of an app I'm building with a friend. If you're interested in seeing our progress and testing it you can DM me for a link to our discord server!