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 cross between a matcha and a sencha, not only visually but also in terms of 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 soy sauce-like savoriness followed by a refreshing vegetal touch of freshly cut grass. By cold infusing these leaves, however, one can appreciate the freshness of the product even better without sacrificing a delicate sweetness and pleasant umami in the aftertaste.
Location of origin
Kagoshima, Japan
Production
Ryokucha green tea is brewed in the classic Japanese style: the freshly harvested leaves are allowed to wither for a short time and then invested with very hot steam for between one and one and a half minutes. In this way, oxidation locking takes place, a useful step to deactivate enzymes that would lead 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.
Infusion method
Put 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 over 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 parameters of quantity and temperature but varying the infusion time. For the second one we suggest a time of 1 minute and 10 seconds and for the third one 1 minute and 30 seconds.
The tea can be filtered for an easier tasting time and also the infusion times given above here are meant to be purely indicative so you can also adjust according to your personal taste.
Since we are talking about a Japanese green tea we remember that 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.
We recommend storing in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.
