Japanese green tea Ryokucha 50g

Japanese Ryokucha green tea is a product made from semi-dusted leaves, which are excellent for making a tasty brew using either hot or cold water. The special feature of this tea is its appearance: a curious middle ground between a matcha and a sencha, not only visually but also in its taste characteristics. This Ryokucha, in particular, has a fairly balanced flavor profile due to the skillful blend of leaves obtained from the Yutakamidori and Seamidori cultivars.

When infused with hot water, this tea first reveals an intense savoriness similar to that of soy sauce followed by a refreshing vegetal touch of freshly cut grass. By cold infusing these leaves, on the other hand, one can even better appreciate the freshness of the product without, however, sacrificing a delicate sweetness and pleasant umami in the aftertaste.

Place of origin

Kagoshima, Japan

Production

Ryokucha green tea is brewed in the classic Japanese style: freshly picked leaves are allowed to wither for a short time and then invested with very hot steam for between one minute and one and a half minutes. This blocks oxidation, a useful step in deactivating enzymes that would cause the leaf to oxidize and more fully structure the tea’s vegetal notes. After this important step, the leaves are dried by hot air jets and semi-dusted to be ready for use.

Brewing method

Place 3 grams of leaves (about two teaspoons) in a Japanese Kyusu-type teapot or, in its absence in a teapot possibly with a wide, flat bottom.

Pour 200ml of water at a temperature of 70°C on the leaves: after 1 minute has passed, you can start pouring the tea into cups. To make the most of the leaves and continue the taste experience with this tea, we also recommend making two more infusions of the same leaves with the same quantity and temperature parameters but varying the infusion time. A time of 1 minute 10 seconds is suggested for the second, and 1 minute 30 seconds for the third.

The tea can be filtered for greater ease at the moment of tasting, and also the infusion times indicated above are intended to be purely indicative, so you can also adjust according to your personal taste.

As we are talking about a Japanese green tea, it is also possible to make a delicious infusion in cold water before proceeding with hot water. For the latter, we recommend, with the same grams of leaves per amount of water, an infusion time of about 10 minutes.

Store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.