Green Tea (Ato-bi process)
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Commercial Description
During the finishing process, tea leaves are sorted by size for optimal finishing. The leaves that bring out the tea color are gently dried, while those that bring out the aroma are dried at a higher temperature. The result is an enjoyable fresh aroma in every cup of tea.
RateTea Notes
This tea is available for purchase in some Asian markets in the U.S.
Ratings & Reviews
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79 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 5/5Alex Zorach (1448 reviews) on May. 23rd, 2018
This was quite a discovery. I purchased this at a Chinese market in Edison, NJ. I was surprised to see a Japanese tea for sale, but I grabbed it because I saw D. Gray had reviewed it and was eager to try it. I wasn't disappointed!
The dry leaf is a rich, yellow-green color, and pleasantly aromatic, smelling sweet and fresh, a bit like grain (especially corn) and with light straw notes.
The brewed cup tastes and smells like what I'd expect from the leaf: it is mellow, smooth, and the aroma is light and mostly of grain and straw. There are only slight vegetal notes, a lot less than typical for Japanese green teas. The flavor is sweet and savory, with a light bitterness. Astringency is low, but you can bring out more (and more body) with a longer steep. D. Gray describes this tea as "creamy" and I see this.
I find this tea is easy to brew and forgiving of different temperatures and steep times...much more so than is typical for Japanese teas, which I tend to find picky and difficult to brew. I find this tea tastes better if brewed more strongly; I like using nearly 2 teaspoons of leaf per cup, steeping for 1 minute, then increasing the steep. Brewed this way you can get 3 steeps easily. I also like using one teaspoon and making only two steeps: 2 minutes followed by 5-8.
If you use a longer second steep it brings out astringency, greater bitterness, and vegetal notes, which some people may not like, but I didn't mind.
This would make a great everyday tea. It's pretty cheap too; Amazon has it for sale for $12 a pack but it was well under $10 (I forget how much, maybe arouund $8?) in the market I bought it in. I think it was a great deal and I'll probably buy more next time I'm back at that market; I haven't seen this tea for sale many places.
Page 1 of 1 page with 1 review
