KAG0008 "YUTAKAMIDORI" (40g)
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Grain aroma, laver on the palate, astringency with real intent. Nagayama's family cultivar, grown exactly right.
Yutakamidori is Japan's second most produced cultivar, and Nagayama-san's grandfather was the one who first established it in Kagoshima. At Harutonari in Kagoshima, the covered cultivation softens what can be a forceful astringency — it is still present, but woven through the umami rather than sitting on top of it. The aroma carries a dry grain quality, somewhere between rice straw and toasted barley, with laver underneath.
Brew at 70°C. The astringency gives this tea its defining edge — not a flaw, but the feature that makes each sip feel deliberate.
Point
If you don't have a temperature-controlled electric kettle or thermometer, use the following method to cool the water.
- Boil water and transfer to a teacup once.
- Wait for 3 minutes to allow the temperature to drop to around 70 degrees.
*The temperature drop will vary depending on the shape and material of the teacup.
How to Brew
- Prepare the water at 70 degrees Celsius.
- Put the tea leaves in the teapot and pour the hot water.
- After 90 seconds, pour the water into the cup. Make sure do not shake the teapot when you pour to prevent tea leaves touch each other and extract unpleasant flavor.
- The last drop from the teapot is a superb drop of tea, rich in the flavor of the tea leaves. Pour every last drop of tea gently.
Reference
Behind the Sip
Harutonari
I have visited Nagayama-san twice now. Each time, I end up talking with him for far longer than planned — two hours, then three — and each time I quietly tell myself it will not happen again. It always does. Behind h...
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