Could the name of this tea more truthful to its personality and shape? First Love Organic Japanese oolong tea comes from Tarui Tea Farm in Shizuoka and is one of the rare and unique Japanese oolongs.
Name: Hatsuoki – First Love Organic Japanese oolong tea (Update: tea no longer available, October 2018)
Producer: Tarui Tea Farm (Shizuoka, Japan)
Tea Vendor: Yunomi (Japan)
Type: Japanese oolong tea
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Collecting Pieces of Memories
First, there are these dark green broken leaves with tiny stems scattered around. Broken tiny memories of old almost childhood years when love was innocent and playful. Only tiny pieces now, from a full picture, but brought together still forming a beautiful flavor of memories. Indeed, this tea has a sweet scent, toasty and with deep chocolate and honey note. Only in a heated teapot that is. Heat the memory and it will come back to you. Leaves are almost completely broken which I’m not sure is it intentionally or not. This tea is harvested in late June in Nearaicho, Shizuoka, and it’s completely organically grown. Unfortunately, sold out at the moment, but keep an eye on the link later this year.
Brewing First Love Organic Japanese Oolong Tea
Bewing: 3 grams, 150 ml, 85-90 degrees Celsius, 1 min +
This tea can get quite bitter if you don’t brew it with care. I wasn’t very careful when brewing the first time, even though I’m very aware of the character of Japanese oolongs. However,second time, I got it right. First Love organic Japanese oolong tea is, I dare to say, more of a traditional uroncha type with yanagi bancha soul. Color is light orange. It would be perfect for a cold brew as well. And then, when you think it’s all over, the after taste appears. Not slowly and continuously like with most teas, but suddenly, after a few seconds of complete absence. And it is very sweet. Second infusion results in a much lighter and milder tea, with fresh background. That note gets very similar to yanagi bancha in the third steep. There is a lot of sweetness again.
First Love Organic Japanese oolong tea is a very interesting tea that I would firstly recommend to those wanting to explore flavour nuances of Japanese teas, different unique types, or even beginners looking for a great pure and organic tea for making a healthy iced-tea. It might be a bit difficult to brew if you are still learning, but the effort will definitely pay off.
