My first Wakoucha-experience. Wakoucha Tasting, Tea N°12, Gokase Black Yamanami, 2017, Hotsoup.

This was the second Wakoucha I tasted, and together with the Benifuki of the same importer, Hotsoup, these were the two that woke up my curiosity, and started me on the long and winding path towards Wakoucha heaven, with surprises behind every corner. Looking back now, it is not a big surprise that I fell for this tea. It comes from Gokase, one of the best terroirs for Wakoucha, it was made by the Miyazaki family, famous producers of black Japanese tea, and it was made with Yamanami, one of the 'green' cultivars used for Wakoucha.

Yamanami is a 'Chinese' cultivar, coming from seeds from Hubei in China and developed in the Miyazaki Research Centre (Miyazaki is also a town) in 1965. It is pretty rare and usually used for kamairicha, and it can deliver very fine black teas. The use of green cultivars for black tea is one of the things that make Wakoucha unique.

Gokase Black Yamanami, Miyazaki Sabou, Hotsoup, 2017:

Harvested May 25, 2017, in Gokase, on the Miyazaki Sabou teafarm.
August, 6, 2019, in the afternoon, a root day, warm but cloudy. 3 gram, 150ml, 2 mins, 98°C. The dry leaves are dark and well oxidized, and broken. The wet leaves smell of flowers and sweet jelly, and are dark brown, a few complete ones, oval. Quite a dark brew, briljant and intense. From the cup comes a waft of jam and fruit, including the acidity of fresh fruit and a touch of varnished wood and camphor. The taste is on the thin side, with a light astringency, good acidity, quite refreshing, very nice for a Wakoucha. Quite long. The second brew was good, everything the same but more muted and with a softer finish.
These tasting notes date from the long session of summer 2019, and I'll give you also those of april 2018, my first encounter with this tea.
April 7, 2018: a caramel-coloured reddish infusion. The aroma is sweet and full of temptation. God balance in the mouth, no astringency at all, a very nice fraîcheur. Added milk to it, and then it became extremely yummy and very complex, like a super-cocoa.
April 18, 2018: nice aroma, clear and complex and powerful. Well structured and nuttiness in the finish. With a dash of milk it seems as if somebody draw a creamy line under a nutty-sweet overtone. Addictive. 😊😊😊(😊)

Still available at Hotsoup: https://www.hotsoup.nl/nl/gokase-black-yamanami.html.