Product Name: Chirancha by Ootonaridake Tea Production Cooperation
Product Category: Fukamushi-Sencha Green Tea
Manufacturer: Hishiwaen (Kanagawa, Japan)
★☆☆☆☆☆ - Definitely never buy again
Date tried: Oct 13, 2020
Place purchased; DonDonDonki Singapore
Price: 12SGD-ish (Sorry I lost the receipt)
Quick summary: Couldn't finish drinking it...
Package
Firstly, it says Chirancha in Japanese. Chirancha is the name for green tea produced in the "Minami Kyushu city" of Japan. It comes with a reputation of high quality tea, as their tea has won the National Tea competition several times. (Winning the National Tea competition in Japan IS indeed a great accomplishment)
The package indicates that this tea is from the same Coop which has won the competition. While it's perhaps not the same producer, being from the same area does mean that many of the environmental conditions to make the tea may be the same and advantageous.
So my expectations were high although the price was relatively cheap.
It mentions "ichibancha". This means that the tea is taken from the first harvesting season of the year - which is the best quality of tea.
While it didn't mention in the package, I was fully expecting this to be a Sencha.
I had a bit of a question-mark when I checked the name of the Manufacturer. This manufacturer, Hishiwaen, is actually a company in Kanagawa, Japan. They are not in Minami Kyushu city, which is where Chirancha is generally produced.
It seems like for their case, they import the tea from the tea farms in Minami Kyushu city and make the final tea product in Kanagawa. I was wondering if this setup can actually be called a "chiran-cha", as many other area brands of tea have strict rules on where you can and cannot produce the team to be able to use the area brand name. (for example, Yamecha must be produced by a Manufacturer in Fukuoka)
For Chirancha, it seems that the definition is not as strict. As long as the tea originates from the area, it is fine to call it Chirancha. So this is fine.
Product visual
Right away I can tell that the leaves are very crumbly.
This means that it's probably not a normal Sencha - it's a Fukamushi-Sencha.
A Fukamushi-Sencha differs from a Sencha in that the steaming conducted to stop the oxidation of the leaves is longer. The long steaming period reduces the aroma but strengthens the taste.
The Fukamushi-Sencha itself is definitely not a bad product. However, there are preferences. I personally am not a fan of Fukamushi-Sencha.
The Taste
TOO much of that "Hay" taste for me.
For any green tea of higher quality, you'd want to seep in water of temperatures a little lower than boiling water.
I boiled water, let it wait a while, and gave it a quick seep.
Knowing that the tea is a Fukamushi-Sencha, I gave it a quick one. Or else the tea could become pretty strong.
The verdict?
Yes, honestly this tea is just too "Hay-ish" for me. I might be biased because - as I said above, I am not a fan of Fukamushi-Sencha. And some Fukamushi-Sencha comes with this kind of grassiness.
However, there are green tea of stronger steaming of which I like. This one I can't take because the grassiness is too strong. It feels like I'm drinking tea mixed with some hay. I really don't like this taste being so evident in the tea.
I ended up not finishing my bag and threw the rest of the tea away. I know I won't drink it again anyways - as I have many other options.
Summary
So honestly, I really don't like this tea. I rate it as a 1 star, ★☆☆☆☆☆ - Definitely never buy again.
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