Comment by inkyoto
3 years ago
Varities of Chinese and Japanese green teas differ in their processing techniques so much that they require different preparation techniques as well. They possess distinctly different flavours, too.
Most Japanese green teas are steamed past the harvest time – lightly (gyokuro), or more thoroughly (sencha), or anywhere in between depending on the grade – and some varieties can also be roasted (e.g. yabukita). Japanese green tea generally requires milder water temperatures for a preparation. Typically, the higher is the grade, the lower is the temperature, e.g. from 60ºC for gyokuro and high grade matcha to 80ºC for sencha. Gyokuro and matcha, prepared at the right or slightly lower temperature, has a lot umami flavour with a little bit of sweetness in it.
Varieties of the Chinese green tea is either lightly roasted (without being steamed nowadays) or lightly fermented. They need higher water temperatures, typically in a range between 80ºC and 90ºC. High grade Dragon Well prepared at the 80ºC temperature has a unique flavour that I don't know describe, but it will have almost no flavour is a lower temperature is used.
Matcha started out on the mainland and came to Japan. As my Taiwanese dealer once said to an audience, she was grateful the Japanese still do matcha or she worried the technique and style would have been lost.
Not to say they make it exactly the same, I wouldn’t know, but the origin is China.
Yep, roasting the leaves for the kill-green process will leave you with nuttier flavors. Steaming it keeps the umami vegetal/seaweed flavor.
Dragon's Well tea sort of reminds me of sweet corn.