Ikkyu Hakusei

Ikkyu Hakusei

This is the first tea that I try from Ikkyu.

It’s very rare, a white leaf tea from Yame.

This green tea has pale looking leaves due to a special shading method.

The tea farmer Takaki Akihito bred the tea plants specifically for this type of tea four years ago.

White leaf tea tasting

Some years ago at a World Tea Expo in Las Vegas I tried a similar tea from the booth of the World Green Tea Association.

Unfortunately, I don’t remember very well what it tasted like. Only that it had a rich umami taste.

This one has a sweet aroma. It reminds me of a shincha.

But by far the most interesting thing is its appearance.

There are three colors: green, light green, and a sort of orange. It is beautiful.

I’ll prepare it as a sencha. A teaspoon of tea leaves, and 60 ml (2 oz) of water at 80 ºC (176ºF) for one minute.

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The wet leaf aroma has notes of seaweed and boiled greens. The sweetness feels faint.

Ikkyu Hakusei brewed

I now have a good looking, pale green liquor. I’m already feeling thirsty.

As expected, it has a bold umami taste and a good sweetness.

It feels balanced. And naturally it isn’t bitter nor astringent.

Time for a second infusion using the same steeping method.

It also has a lot of umami, very much like the first infusion. Very good!

I made the third infusion in the same manner, but this time its flavor is lighter.

This is similar to a light sencha, still enjoyable.

I think that three infusions is the limit for this tea. But just in case that it has something left, I’ll try making a fourth one.

30 seconds in boiling water should do it.

It’s too light now. At least it’s still not bitter nor astringent.

I couldn’t let the wet leaves go to waste. So I ate them in a salad.

Incredibly, the wet leaves aren’t bitter at all.

This tea is a real treat. Very much worth its price.

3 Comments

  1. Bill
    April 3, 2020

    Interesting tea. Ikkyu looks like a good source for green tea also.

    Reply
    1. Ricardo Caicedo
      April 3, 2020

      Thank you for your comment Bill. I have more samples from them that I haven’t tried. I’ll publish those in the near future.

      Reply
  2. Ricardo Caicedo
    September 1, 2020

    Thank you Aiko, I noticed that you joined the newsletter as well.

    You won’t be disappointed with this tea.

    Reply

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