Healthy, Herbal Japanese Green Teas from YAO Clinic – A Wonderful Fall Indulgence!

September 18, 2018

We are incredibly fortunate to have Daniel give us spontaneous morning tea tastings on occassion and today at YAO we were schooled on our Japanese Green Teas: Asanoka, Saemidori, and Sencha. These teas are fabulous ones for drinking especially when you are choosing to stop drinking coffee. Though they don’t have that rich earthy coffee flavor…not even remotely, they have a wonderfully hearty earthy freshness with a wonderful caffeine kick! We find that it bring mind clarity and focus especially to days where the head feels a bit foggy.

Each of these gorgeously green teas are the first picking of the Spring season – steamed at various temps and times then stored in airtight/vacuum packed parcels. Not only are the leaves a rich green, but the liquors are beautiful, bright and vibrant…(especially noted in our Free YAO Year of the Dog pint glasses that are FREE when you buy 50 grams or more of our tea)!

asanoka

Asanoka receives a light steam after picking, and is then dried and sealed – a very bright green/blue almost shiny looking tea leaf. This is some top notch young tea – be gentle with it and it will give you a perfect cup each time.

Directions

How much: 1 tsp = 3g
Temp: 168-172 F – no hotter
Steep Time: 60-90 secs. – too long and it will become more astringent/bitter
Liquor: pale/neon yellow/lime green. Tastes like Spring.
Number of steepings from 1tsp: 2-3

SAEMIDORI

Saemidori receives a little bit longer steam after picking, and is then dried and sealed. Similar in appearance to Asanoka but not as shiny and somewhat smaller looking leaves. This would be the ‘middle brother’ to our three Green teas.

DIRECTIONS

How Much: 1tsp = 3g
Temp: 168-172 F – no hotter
Steep Time: 60-90 secs. – again, too long of a steep and it will bring out a bitter note to the tea. Some people like this, but I find it takes away from the freshness and sweet Spring note of the tea.
Liquor: pale/neon lime/yellow. Another fresh ‘newly mown grass’ tea. It’s all the joys of Spring in a cup.
Number of steepings from 1tsp: 2-3

sencha

Sencha receives the longest steam of all our green teas. This changes the taste dramatically and is sure to please any coffee drinker who is trying to make the switch. It’s a super quick brew and is perfect for on the go caffeine fix. It has all the properties of a Green tea – fresh and Spring-like with a more robust flavor profile, and you will feel that caffeine. It’s the ‘Big Brother’ to our other green teas.

How much: 1 tsp = 3g
Temp: 168-172 F – no hotter
Steep Time: The shortest steep will yield a perfect cup of tea – 60-70 secs.
Liquor: Pale green/yellow – reminiscent of the color of pickle juice.
Number of steepings from 1tsp: 2-3

which one do I choose?

Why choose one when you can choose all three? Come down to YAO and we can pour out individually 10 grams of each for your purchasing pleasure…that would be plenty for about 3-5 sessions of steeping (with 2-3 steepings per session). This will give you the opportunity to do a taste test of your own as well as enjoy a few mugs individually to see which one really is your fave!