This tamaryokucha is a single cultivar (Saemidori) ichibancha (spring) tea from award-winning tea farmer Ohyama 大山.
The dry leaf has a deep and luxurious aroma: a heady mix of savoury seaweed, buttery shortbread and even fruity mango notes when you dig your nose into a freshly opened pack.
A first brew at lower temperature (60-70ºC) will give a bold umami brew: we taste seaweed & chicken soup. The aftertaste is clean, leaving a lingering nutty character.
A second brew brings out a distinct floral note, spinach & clear vegetable soup. A third brew still highlights the umami character of this tea, with a light nutty & floral twist.
The aftertaste is sweet & vegetal, leaving you thirsty for more!
Brewing suggestion:
First brew – 5 gr / 120-200 ml / 60ºC / 50 sec
Second brew – brew slightly hotter ~80ºC, short brew of just a few seconds
Officially we would say that you can infuse the tea at least 3 times from the same tea leaves, but this tea, as with many of our other teas, you can definitely infuse more times.
In 2020, teafarmer Ohyama won the tea competition called “Norinsuisan Daijin Sho (農林水産大臣賞)”. The award is given by the Japanese Agricultural Minister and is one of the highest prizes in the Japanese tea world.
Fun fact about this tea: it’s named after Ohyama’s youngest daughter, Shin.