Sunday, July 26th at 1:00pm
2202 Ave X, Brooklyn, New York
Every other Sunday, while the shop is closed, we set aside a couple of hours to brew and share tea with new and old friends, and you're invited :)
It's a casual, friendly tea tasting, where we try 3 different teas (see below). It will be either new arrivals, old favorites, or fresh samples. We will take time to explore their origins, how they were made, and what we're tasting. It's not a class or a lecture – just tea, conversation, and a chance to slow down and enjoy the moment :)
We like to keep it small – there are only 6 seats available, so if you're planning to come, it's a good idea to reserve your spot in advance. The price is nominal, to cover the cost of the teas we are tasting.
So, if you're free on this day and want to try some good teas with good people – join us. We'll be here, kettle on :)
This time, we will be tasting three Steamed Green Teas:
• Sencha (Japan) – Sencha (煎茶) is a staple Japanese Green Tea. This Sencha is processed as Fukamushi Cha (深蒸し茶 – deep-steamed tea), which means that it undergoes a slightly extended steaming process compared to the standard steaming (普通蒸し茶 – Futsumushicha), which typically lasts around 30-45 seconds. In contrast, Fukamushicha is steamed for about a minute, resulting in a tea that boasts a more pronounced sweetness and body while suppressing excessive astringency.
• Gyokuro (Japan) – Gyokuro is regarded as the highest grade of Japanese tea. Gyokuro tea is made only with the first flush leaves, and the tea bushes are shaded from direct sunlight for about 20 days before harvesting. Shading makes the tea plant stack on L-theanine. It is an amino acid that gives Gyokuro tea leaves their sweetness. Afterward, the leaves are immediately steamed, dried, and carefully rolled into distinctive shapes resembling pine needles. The tea's unique processing results in a sweet, savory flavor and fresh, flowery-green aroma.
• Enshi Yu Lu (China) – this tea is the link between the steaming method invented in China over a thousand years ago and modern Chinese green tea. During the Tang dynasty, steaming was the method used to make all Chinese green tea. After the Tang era, China gradually shifted to pan-firing, and steaming gradually disappeared from the mainland. Japan, which had learned the technique from Tang-era China, kept it and refined it into sencha, gyokuro, and the rest of the Japanese green tea tradition. Enshi Yu Lu is a Chinese tea that retains the older processing method.
If you can't make it this time but want to stay updated about our future tea tastings, then subscribe to notifications to stay in the know. We hope to see you next time:)
